


Archer Meets Viking

by coolandcreativetwo



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 12:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 57,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolandcreativetwo/pseuds/coolandcreativetwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiccup's caught off guard when Astrid declares she loves him, and Stoick announces he and Astrid will be married in late summer, so he decides to take off with Toothless on a trip, determined to figure out whether he can go through with the marriage, but what he didn't expect to find is a Scottish princess, which causes him to rethink his future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Hiccup had been quietly sitting on a barrel near the dock, while Toothless was obviously by his side, like he always was, and the Viking could tell that his black, scaly friend was already getting bored, but he just couldn't leave right now, especially since he knew that Astrid would be arriving on a ship any minute now. Astrid was away for the past week on a fishing trip with her father, and she would have brought Stormfly along to help her out, or at least, to keep her company, but her father flat out refused, saying that no dragons would be included on the trip, most likely because he wanted it to be just family. Hiccup had managed to keep himself super busy while his girlfriend was gone, with looking after her Deadly Nadder, which Astrid thought was giving too much work for Hiccup, especially when he already has a Night Fury to take care of, but he insisted that it was no problem, and she didn't have to worry about it.

There was also his job with being the founder and head dragon trainer for Berk Dragon Academy, and it was pretty hard for Hiccup to concentrate at the arena, considering that he noticed Astrid's absence right away before the sessions had even begun. On the night before she left, the couple spent time alone at the cove, and while they were there, Astrid told Hiccup that she had something very important to tell him, but she somehow changed her mind and decided to wait until she came back from the trip, and that's something which bothered Hiccup a lot lately. Why couldn't Astrid have just told Hiccup instead of having him wait for an entire week to hear whatever it was, and besides, Hiccup couldn't help but think about whether it was good or bad, because Astrid didn't even mention if it was about their relationship or something else.

All of the many thoughts that were currently going around in Hiccup's mind suddenly got interrupted when Toothless began nudging him, as he was trying to tell him that something had caught his attention, and when Hiccup looked up from the ground to see what it was, a smile quickly grew on his face. Not so far in the distance, both Hiccup and Toothless were clearly seeing a ship that was sailing across the sea, and the closer it came to the dock of the island, the more that Hiccup could be able to hear Astrid's voice, calling out his name, and also see her waving to him. Once the ship had finally come into port, Astrid instantly jumped onto the dock, and ran towards Hiccup, who had just got himself off from the barrel, and started walking over to his girlfriend, when she grabbed him and pulled him in for a long embrace.

"Astrid, it's great to have you back home, so how was your fishing trip? I guess that it couldn't have been a lot of fun while not having Stormfly around with you." Hiccup assumed.

"Well, it was definately not fun for me knowing that I couldn't get to bring you and Toothless along, but my father had made it clear, and he kept saying that the trip would really give us a chance to talk, so anyway, speaking of Stormfly, where is she right now?" Astrid asked.

"There's no need to worry, Stormfly's back at your house waiting for you, and I know that it's probably not my business or anything, but what exactly did you and your father talk about, because I remember that you said back in the cove a week ago that there was something very important for you to tell me." Hiccup mentioned.

"Wait a minute, Hiccup, you still don't know about it, because I was sure that your father was going to talk to you right after we returned to the village on that same night." Astrid replied, which had gotten Hiccup thinking for a while before he gave an answer to Astrid.

"I believe that I asked my dad about it just once, and all he said was that the two should wait until you and your father got back from your fishing trip. Oh, and speaking of your father, here he comes right now, so if you don't mind, I'd like to ask him what exactly is it that's so important." Hiccup informed, while turning to approach Astrid's father, Alrick Hofferson.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hofferson, before your daughter left with you on your fishing trip a week ago, I remember she said to me that there was something very important for me to know, but she changed her mind, and never told me, so I was hoping if you could please tell me." Hiccup requested.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, but we should probably go over to your father's house first before we talk about anything, and you shouldn't have to worry at all because it's actually a good thing that you'll be happy to hear about." Alrick responded, before giving a grin and patting Hiccup on the shoulder.

Hiccup made a long sigh, since he was obviously disappointed that he wasn't going to find out right away, but he was nonetheless glad that he would finally know very soon.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With his best friend, girlfriend, and her father coming along with him, Hiccup reached his house and opened the door to find his father sitting still in a chair near the dinner table, and right when they entered, Stoick got himself off from the chair and walked towards them.

"Alrick, welcome back! It's great to see that you and your daughter made it back to Berk safely, so tell me, how was the fishing trip? Did you get a nice catch of fish while you were far out at sea?" Stoick asked, as he shook Alrick's hand and heavily patted him on the back.

"We weren't so lucky, because it seemed like the fish preferred to hide at the bottom of the ocean, but on the bright side, the trip did give me a chance to discuss with my daughter about a lot of things, and especially...her future." Alrick answered.

Hiccup instantly felt a shudder course throught his entire body right when he heard Astrid's father say those last three words, and he was really getting nervous now, and he could even feel his head vibrating.

"That's good to hear, Alrick, but if you don't mind, I'd like to talk with my son in private, because we didn't really sit down at any time this past week to talk about his future, so maybe you and Astrid should come back some other time. How does tonight at the Great Hall sound?" Stoick suggested.

"Sounds good, chief, and I'll just give Hiccup a kiss before me and my father go." Astrid said, as she walked over to her boyfriend, quickly kissed him hard on the lips, and put her mouth near to Hiccup's ear.

"l love you, Hiccup, and just so you know, that's what I was going to tell you at the cove on that night, but I just got a little scared, so I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, and making you wait, and I really missed you so much, and trust me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Astrid whispered.

She smiled at Hiccup for a few seconds before leaving through the front door, with Alrick following her, while closing the door behind him, and that just left Hiccup, Stoick, and Toothless in the house, with father and son staring at each other for a short moment until Hiccup spoke up.

"So...dad, now that Astrid and her father have left, what is it about my future that you wanted to talk to me about? I mean, did I do something wrong?" Hiccup asked, while trying to recall anything particularly bad he'd done in the past few days, but he came up short.

"No, son, you did nothing wrong at all, and I apologize for not telling you earlier, but before Alrick left on that fishing trip, we discussed your relationship with Astrid, and since the two of you seem to be very happy together, both of us felt that it was time for you to take the next step." Stoick answered.

"Dad, what do you mean by "next step"? Are you suggesting that me and Astrid sleep together, because I'm sure that we're way too young to even consider doing that." Hiccup asked, while assuming that's what his father was going to be talking about with him.

"You're absolutely right about that, son, which is why me and Alrick have worked out a contract for you and Astrid to be married by the end of summer. Congratulations, son!" Stoick proudly exclaimed.

Hiccup felt the sudden sensation that the floor had been jerked out from under him, and he half expected someone to jump out and say, "Haha! Just kidding! You totally fell for it!" But, unfortunately, that didn't get to happen for him.

"What! I'm engaged to Astrid? Dad, how can we be engaged if we didn't even talk about it, and why didn't I find out about this before? Does Astrid even know about this?" Hiccup asked, and he obviously felt like asking a lot more questions.

Stoick made a bark of laughter, as though it was a good time of watching his son freak out. "Calm down, Hiccup! Well, I'm sure that the engagement's exactly what Alrick discussed with Astrid during their fishing trip for the past week. It's a good thing you're engaged because it's a perfect match with the Hoffersons, which are a good, strong family, just like us Haddocks, and it was actually an unplanned sort of thing, since it was Alrick who made the offer first, and as you already know, I decided to wait until they got back so that we could discuss everything together." Stoick explained. 

"What is there else to discuss about? I'm barely sixteen! I've still haven't even begun to understand females! Why should me and Astrid have to get married so soon, I mean, can't we just wait for a couple of years to give us more time to commit to each other?" Hiccup requested.

"Son, once you're married, the two of you will have more than enough time to be committed, and it wouldn't be so different to make this an official union, because a lot of Vikings choose to marry at a young age, especially Viking chiefs, and it's to ensure that the tribes stay strong. Hiccup, I really am sorry for not telling you about any of this earlier, but now that you know, it shouldn't be a problem anymore, and my decision on this is final. I just hope someday, you'll understand that while a father must do what's best for his son, a chief must do what's best for the village." Stoick explained. 

Before Hiccup could even ask his father any more questions, Stoick had already walked out the door, and Hiccup wordlessly climbed up the stairs into his bedroom, with Toothless quietly following him, and he laid down with his back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. His mind instantly got focused on what Astrid told him before she left his house, which caused Hiccup to wonder if he loved her back, and the Viking didn't really know, but he had always liked her, and cared about her as a friend, but he wasn't if he wanted their relationship to become more serious. He liked their relationship as it already was, a comforting and friendly love, because they were not just friends, but they were also sweethearts, so obviously, he never even had considered marriage, since it was taking a huge step in their relationship, and making an actual commitment.

"What should I do? Astrid said that she loves me, but I'm not sure if I feel the same way about her, and how am I supposed to tell her that? Surely she will get angry or sad, and I don't want that to happen, but I'm afraid that our relationship could be destroyed!" Hiccup thought to himself.

He still kept his green eyes on the ceiling, as if the answer was up there somehow. "I do like Astrid, and I have always liked her. I would never forgive myself if I let down such a strong, tough, and great girl like Astrid."

Hiccup knew that he would never do that to her, and to decide whether he loved Astrid or not, Hiccup thought of everything that they had been through, from dragon training to the battle with the only to have uncertainty written all over his face.

"No, I don't love Astrid," Hiccup concluded, and it was far too early, which is why all he needed was time, and if Astrid would give him that, he would eventually give his love in return, but he didn't want to spend all of that time planning their wedding, and it was much too soon for them to be doing that either.

It seemed impossible at this point for Hiccup to go outside, find his father, and try to convince him to have the wedding, if not the engagement, postponed because he couldn't possibly be married to somebody whom he didn't love yet, even it was Astrid, and he knew that it wouldn't really be fair to her. Maybe if Hiccup could get away from Berk for a while, it would help him think about going through with the wedding, and come to a realization that him and Astrid were truly meant for each other, but he knew that it would be a bad message by taking off without saying anything. He could leave a note for his father explaining that he wasn't running away, since it would only be a few days, or maybe even a week until he got back, and while Hiccup still wasn't sure of the destination, he should be able to find some kind of campsite that he could stay at.

"Alright Toothless, I think that it's time to go on a trip of our own, and it will just be the two of us, but this trip isn't going to include Astrid and Stormfly, so are you okay with that?" Hiccup asked, and he already knew what the dragon's answer was when Toothless came over to licking his face.

"I'll take that as a yes, but before we go, I just have to pack up some things I'll need and leave a note for my dad, and we'll be out of here. Could you please wait for me downstairs?" Hiccup requested, and Toothless nodded before going down the wooden stairway.

Hiccup immediately found a basket and got started on filling it with the most important things that he should bring for trip, like a few changes of clothes, fresh food, clean water, and his sketchbook, because he'd like to draw anything out there that might capture his attention.

After he was done packing the basket, Hiccup walked over to his desk, grabbed a spare piece of paper and the charcoal pen his mother had given him when he was young, and started writing.

Dear Father,

I know that since you're the chief, it's your duty to make decisions which are best for the village, and because I'm not only your son, but your only child, I'll be the next in line to take that position in the future, but I'm not exactly happy with the decision you've recently made for me. Ever since I met Astrid back when we were kids, I liked her a lot, and I still do right now, but my feelings for Astrid haven't really changed over the years, and that's why I don't love her, and I'm not even in love with her, but I would like to be, if only I had more time. It wouldn't be fair to you, Astrid, and her father for me to stay here in Berk and spend that time making plans for me and Astrid to get married, when I'm still not certain about spending the rest of my life with her, and that's why I need to get away for a while.

You don't have to worry about me, because I'll only be gone for a few days, or probably even a week, and I have a basket that's all packed with the most necessary things for the trip, and Toothless will be by my side and look after me the entire time we're away from Berk. When you see Astrid, can you please tell her not to be upset with me, because I'm pretty sure that will be her instant reaction when she finds out about me having left the village, and also tell her father that I still do like her daughter, and I'm not scared of being with her. While I'm gone, I'll miss spending time with not only her and Stormfly, but also with you, because ever since the battle with the Green Death, I've felt that our relationship has gotten better and stronger over the past few months, with Alvin, the portrait, and everything else.

I'll be sure to tell you about what happened during the trip when I get back, and until then, goodbye, father.

With love, from your son, Hiccup

After he was finally finished with the note, Hiccup made a quick double check in the basket to see if there was anything that he might have missed to put in, and he remembered that he wouldn't need to wear his fur vest at least until he found land, and so he put the vest in the basket. Hiccup looked around to find his mother's breast plate, and he let out a sigh while looking at it, since the helmet was the only piece of his mother he had left of her, and he gave an adjustment by fixing one of the horns that was crooked before putting the dull metal helmet on his head. He quickly put on his leather riding vest and tightened the straps of it before Hiccup slung the large basket over his shoulder and took the handwritten letter to his father with his other available hand, and carefully went down the wooden stairs, being cautious not to trip on any of the steps.

"Alright, Toothless, I've got the basket all packed up for our trip, and now we just have to go over to the cove, and I think that it's better to walk because I don't want anyone from the village to catch us if we're flying to get there. Besides, it's better than having my father on your back, right?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless growled, while making a nod in agreement about that question, and Hiccup laid the note down on the dinner table, being in plain sight for his father to see when the next time he comes inside, and both of them went across the room, going outside the house through the back door. Since Hiccup was being mostly quiet during their walk to the cove, Toothless believed that Hiccup had been having second thoughts about their trip, and maybe wondering if he was making a huge mistake with leaving Berk, and so he gently nudged his friend to the side, while looking up at him.

"Don't worry, bud, I'm not sad or upset with you about anything, it's just really important for me to take this trip right now, because otherwise, I'll never know whether or not I can live with even the idea of me and Astrid becoming husband and wife at the end of the summer. Do you understand?" Hiccup asked.

He playfully rubbed the dragon's nose, while also giving him a slight grin, which soon caused Toothless' worries to go away, and as they went much deeper into the forest, Hiccup and his Night Fury could hear the sound of birds chirping, and when Hiccup turned around, he barely saw the village anymore.

"You know what, Toothless, I think that we've walked pretty far enough, and I'm sure that nobody will see us if we start flying, but there's only one more thing that I need to do, and that's for me to connect the basket to your saddle. Now you'll just have to hold still and it will be done with, okay?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless calmly purred, and he managed to keep himself in a still position long enough for Hiccup to get the basket situated on his back, and luckily for Toothless, the basket didn't feel so heavy, but he had to admit that it really felt a lot better than having a man who was four hundred pounds on him. Hiccup jumped onto the saddle and hooked himself in, attaching the metal loops of his leather belt to the metal hooks on Toothless' saddle, and once Hiccup was done with that, the dragon thrust his wings downward and in a matter of only a few seconds, they were off from the ground and into the sky.

When they were a good distance away from the island, Hiccup turned back to the town, getting one last look at it. "Goodbye, Dad. Goodbye, Astrid. Goodbye, Berk." He whispered, and with those few messages said, the unlikely friends took off towards the coast, while facing the wide open ocean.


	2. Stranger in the Forest

It had been officially a few hours or maybe even more than that since Hiccup had left Berk, but he still couldn't help but think about what his father would be doing as soon he read the letter that Hiccup left for him at the house. Would Stoick, with the help of Skullcrusher, his Rumblehorn, immediately leave the village looking for him on his own, or would he get the whole village together and lead out a search party with the use of both ships and dragons to find him? None of those thoughts weren't really much of a concern to Hiccup, but he was hoping that his father might possibly understand that this trip was actually going to help both of them, but he knew that there wasn't anything more he could do from this point.

Hiccup's mind eventually went from his father to Astrid, and he instantly started to feel awful about how he didn't say goodbye to her, at least, not to her face. The dragon trainer also realized that this trip would be sending the wrong message for Astrid too by making her believe that it was her fault with saying that she loved him, and she would think that's the reason why he took off from the island. Once again, there still wasn't something that Hiccup could do to change the situation anyway, but his thoughts were soon interrupted when he heard Toothless gave a exhausted noise which caused Hiccup to wonder if something was wrong.

"What is it, bud? Are you getting tired? If that's the case, I promise that we'll have ourselves back on solid ground as soon as we find land, and. . . wait a second, I think that I'm starting to see something right now." Hiccup said.

He squinted his eyes to get a better look through the misty sky, and luckily, Hiccup could actually see a incredibly large amount of land in the far distance up ahead of them, and Toothless instantly flapped his wings to have them at a faster speed. As they flew closer to the land, it became much more visible, so by the time when they came over an open and clear spot near the forest, Toothless quickly landed and that's when Hiccup realized why his dragon had been so tired and worn out. It wasn't because of the flying he did which went on for hours, it was also having his friend's heavily packed basket on his back, which Hiccup took off to his relief, and slung it over his shoulder again, and Toothless let out a few deep breaths.

"Sorry about that, Toothless, but you don't have to worry about the basket anymore, because the next time it needs to be carried while we're flying, it's going to be on my shoulder the whole time, so that will give you seven whole days without anything heavy on your back." Hiccup informed.

Toothless suddenly jumped up, and almost knocked Hiccup down on his back to the ground when he laid both of his front paws on Hiccup's shoulders, as if he was trying to give him a hug, since he was so relieved to hear what his human friend just said to him.

"Alright, buddy, I get it, now please take it easy, and get yourself off of me, but there's one more thing that we have to do at this point, which is for us to go into the forest and find some shelter, because we'll want ourselves to be safe and protected if a storm comes." Hiccup reminded.

With both of them by each other's side, Toothless and Hiccup's walk through the woods wasn't really so dangerous and scary, even though it was awfully silent, because they've taken many walks through the forests of Berk, especially without flying to get them around. Although there was a heavy gray mist that surrounded the land, just like there was up in the sky, it wasn't new to either Hiccup or Toothless, who had seen it a few times, especially when they discovered the Dragon's Nest for the very first time. They came to a instant stop when something not so far away caught their attention, and it happened to be something that they've never seen in any part of Berk before, which was a circle made up of huge, tall stones, and they walked closer to it get a better look for themselves.

"Wow, it'll be great to see this from up in the sky when we go flying, and I wonder if there's more of these stone circles throughout this land, but why did they made, and who was it that created them? Toothless, please don't get so close to these stones, they probably might be dangerous." Hiccup reminded.

Toothless didn't hear the rest of what Hiccup had told him not do with the stone circles when he noticed a glowing blue light which was flickering between two of the stones, and the Night Fury slowly crawled closer to the light before leaping at the ground to catch it, but the light disappeared. Just a few seconds had passed before another blue light appeared right in front of him, and Toothless leapt up and pounced towards the light again, only to disappear just before he could touch it, and Hiccup eventually turned his attention from the stones to see where his friend was.

"Hey, Toothless, what are you doing? Is there something that you've found?" Hiccup asked, but his dragon still wasn't listening, as Toothless was only focused on the mysterious blue light, which reappeared before his eyes, but this time, it was outside of the stone circle.

To his surprise, the blue light was suddenly joined by a line of more tiny lights behind it, and because Toothless couldn't take this little game of hide-and seek these lights were apparently playing with him, he chased after them, with Hiccup trying his best to catch up with his friend.

"Wait up, bud! This is a new land we're in right now, so we have to be careful before we take off anywhere, which means that we need to stay at each other's side while we're here!" Hiccup shouted, as he continued to keep Toothless in his sight, but ultimately failed in doing just that.

"What was he even going after? I didn't even get a chance to see whatever it was for myself! It couldn't have been any light reflected on the ground, because that would require the use of metal, and besides, I should put my helmet into the basket so that I don't end up losing it again." Hiccup thought.

Unfortunately, he put both of his hands up to his head to feel only his hair, and not his helmet, which he believed must have fell over while he was running after Toothless, so Hiccup set his basket down and went back in the path leading him to the stone circle until he found it. When Hiccup came to the basket, and opened it up to put his helmet inside, a slow and steady whisper caught his attention closeby, and he looked up to see a flickering blue light in front of him, and stared at the floating flame in a mixture of both fear and awe.

"So this is what Toothless had been looking at earlier, and maybe if I do the same, I'll be able to find out where he is." Hiccup said, just as more tiny lights appeared right behind the one that was already quite near in his sight, which caused him to form a thin smile.

Hiccup decided to leave his basket where it was, and get back to it once he found Toothless, and the blue lights created an easy path for Hiccup to follow through the dark forest of withered trees covered in hanging moss, and he could soon hear the sound of water running. There was only one last blue light floating in Hiccup's path, until he could eventually see a nearby stream, and he noticed that the light seemed to be beckoning for him to look past the branches, as if there was something important that he needed to see for himself. Hiccup took a long look across the stream, until on the right side, he spotted a moving figure dressed in a black cape, who was holding a bow and arrow, and they aimed the arrow down at the water, until shooting it to catch one of the silvery fish swimming upstream.

He squinted his eyes to get a closer look at the mysterious figure in black, as they grabbed the fish by picking up the arrow from out of the stream, and took off the hood over their head to have a good look at their catch, and Hiccup was shocked with he was seeing. A huge mass of bright red, curly hair came springing out from the hood right when it came off, and Hiccup realized that instead of leading him to Toothless, the tiny blue lights had led the way for him to find a young, red-headed girl, who he could see was a skilled archer. The Viking stayed from behind the bushes, silently watching the girl, as she carefully walked across to the other side of the stream, where a huge horse was laying down on the grass near a tree, and he was shortly approached by the girl showing her catch to him before she went over to a campfire.

She placed the fish on a spit over the fire to have it properly cooked, and turned the arrow around a few times, roasting it when she heard a noise which certainly sounded familiar to Hiccup, and he immediately got a better look of who it was that made the noise. The redheaded girl turned around in horror, while holding the fish in her left hand, to see Toothless sitting on his hind legs, licking his lips, and staring right back at her with large expectant eyes, hoping that the girl would be giving him the fish at any second, but it didn't happen. Instead, the redhead dropped the slightly cooked fish on the ground, took out her bow, placed an arrow in it, got down on one knee, aimed the arrow up at Toothless' face, and was just about to let it go when someone's hand came out, grabbed the arrow, and clenched into a fist to put a film hold on it. The redhead brought down her bow, turned her face over to the left to see who the hand belonged to, and she found herself at a loss for words while staring up at Hiccup's face, while Hiccup felt the exact same way, as a shade of pink came across their cheeks, with both of them still grasping the arrow.

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"Hey, Hiccup, come on down! It's time to get to the Great Hall, and talk more about your upcoming marriage, so we wouldn't want to keep your fiancée and her father waiting now, huh?." Stoick called out, before he looked down and spotted a sheet of paper on the dinner table.

The chief picked up the sheet, and he quickly took a seat down on one of the chairs right when he could see that the writing on it was done by Hiccup, but instead of being furious and disappointed to find out that his son left the village, Stoick was actually quite proud. Although he was a little frustrated that Hiccup didn't simply find him and say that he and Toothless would be going away for a while, Stoick was sure that he would have refused to let his son go, and Hiccup would have just packed up a basket and left the village anyway. It was already getting too dark to send out a search party for Hiccup, but it would have been unnecessary to even do that, considering that Hiccup and his dragon weren't secretly kidnapped from the island and taken as hostages by a rival tribe and held for ransom.

Stoick knew that as his job of being the chief, he couldn't lie to any villager ever, and it's important to tell Astrid and Alrick the truth about Hiccup's absence, so he made his way out from his house to the Great Hall while still holding Hiccup's letter in one of his hands. When he opened the large double doors, Stoick could already see that the father and daughter pair were sitting together at one of the tables, and the two of them, especially Astrid, also had a smile on their face, which unfortunately, weren't going to last anytime soon.

"Chief, it's so good to see you, but why isn't Hiccup by your side? I thought that he would've been interested to talk about the marriage too." Astrid said, as Stoick went to the other side of the table and sat down, and her smile had vanished when she saw Stoick's face.

"I'm sorry, Astrid, but I'm afraid that any talk about the marriage isn't going to happen, at least, not until Hiccup comes back in the next seven days." Stoick replied, and saw that Astrid had already begun to have a look which was a mix of worry and confusion.

"What do you mean 'in the next seven days'? Why is there going to be a delay with the four of us talking about me and Hiccup getting married at the end of the summer, and finally, where did Hiccup even go, and why would he leave in the first place?" Astrid asked.

"Before my son left, he wrote this letter to me, saying that although he doesn't love you, and isn't even in love with you, he still wants to have those feelings, which is why it's very important for him to have more time, but this doesn't mean that he isn't interested in you at all. It just means that Hiccup cares about you, because he wants you to be with someone who won't ever lie about his feelings until he's ready in spending the rest of his life with you, so he'll be away for at least a week, and I'm sure that once he gets back, he'll be more than happy to marry you." Stoick explained.

"Stoick, how do we know that your son just wants to be with someone else? I mean, when my daughter kissed him in front of the entire village, he didn't get so freaked out that he and his dragon ended up flying out of Berk leaving behind a written note only for you." Alrick assumed.

"Come on, Alrick, what's the worse that could happen while he's out there in the woods? Hiccup meeting a girl who's just as kind, stubborn, beautiful, and headstrong as Astrid, or probably even more, and then wanting to marry her instead and never come back here again? If any of us go and try to find him right now, it will just prove that we still don't respect him enough to give him something he's asking for, which is time to think, so the only thing that the three of us can do is hope that Hiccup will realize that he and Astrid are meant for each other." Stoick assured. 

"I guess since Hiccup will have his dragon around to protect him the whole time he's away, we don't have to worry about him getting hurt or anything. Now then, it's late, so we should all get some sleep," Alrick said, before turning to face his daughter. "Come on, Astrid, let's go home."

"Yes, dad," Astrid replied, as she got up from her seat at the table, and turned to say one last thing. "I understand, chief, and thank you for calling me all of these things, it really does make me feel better, good night." She added, before running to catch up with her father.

When the Hofferson family had left, with closing the tall wooden doors behind them, Stoick sat in silence at the table for a little longer before leaving the Great Hall too, going back to his house, and he put Hiccup's letter down on the table, before finding another letter that he received last week. During the time that Hiccup was spending with Astrid in a place he rarely talked about which he knew was somewhere deep in the forest, Stoick was in the Great Hall with her father, Alrick, where he got an unexpected visit from a man who wore a kilt in a blue checker board pattern, and Stoick quickly asked for Alrick to leave.

The chief could obviously tell from the man's uniform that he came all the way from Scotland, so he asked the man what reason did he have to enter Berk, and the man explained that he was a messenger for the kingdom of DunBroch, and he had a message from King Fergus and Queen Elinor. They had a sixteen-year old daughter named Merida, and their parents wanted to find out if Stoick had any sons that she could get to know, but Stoick said that he did have a son, who was already in a serious relationship, and was sure that he wouldn't be interested in meeting anyone new, especially from Scotland.

With hearing that, the messenger left, but not before giving a letter to the chief, just in case Stoick ever changed his mind and wanted to visit DunBroch, with or without his son, but he needed to bring the letter with him as proof, since nobody might not believe that he really had a written invitation. Instead, Stoick went back to his house and hid the letter in a place he thought Hiccup would never want to look: in his beard, before going over to Alrick's house, and asking him if he expected Hiccup was going to propose to her daughter during their date that night, and Alrick didn't think so, but asked why.

Stoick went on to say that his son and Astrid should get married, with the end of the summer being a perfect time for the wedding to happen, and they could all discuss the marriage when the Hoffersons returned from their week-long fishing trip, and Alrick agreed, despite thinking the whole idea was so suddenly. The chief's mind went back to the present time, which was the day that Hiccup left Berk, and he looked at the letter from DunBroch for a short moment before he threw it into the fire, and watched as the letter burned through the flames until it became a pile of dust and ashes.


	3. Introductions

"Listen, I don't know who ye are, or where ye even came from, but what do ye think you're doin'? If I don't shoot this beast down, the fish I caught earlier won't be the only thing he'll be eatin', now get yer hand off my arrow!" The redhead demanded.

"It's okay, I know this dragon, he isn't going to hurt you, and I can tell that he's very hungry, because he hasn't actually had any fish for hours, so it would be nice if you could just let him have that fish you caught, and there won't be a problem for us at all." Hiccup suggested.

The redhead was prepared to argue about Toothless with Hiccup again, but she hesitated for a while, and she looked over at the fish which was still on the ground, eventually releasing her hand from the arrow, walked over to pick it up, and pulled the arrow out of the fish. While holding the fish with both of her hands, she carefully took small steps toward the dragon, and held the fish out, while Toothless got down to arm's length and prowled over to the redhead like a cat, expectantly opened his jaws, and she was surprised to see that Toothless didn't have any teeth.

"How is that even possible? From what I've heard from my father, every dragon is supposed to have. . ." The redhead didn't get to finish the rest of her sentence when razor sharp teeth suddenly shot out from Toothless' gums, and he snapped up the fish whole, swallowing it.

The redhead jerked back her hands in shock, as she couldn't believe that a dragon had actually eaten something from her own hands, even though she nearly had her fingers bitten off, and she was confused when it didn't look like Toothless was completely done with the fish.

"That's how I've given him the name 'Toothless', because of his retractable teeth, and to be honest, it's really a long story with how I know this dragon, but I'm sure in telling you that he's not interested in eating anyone alive, so anyway, my name is Hiccup, and what's yours?" Hiccup asked.

The redhead was about to answer when the Night Fury advanced on her, which caused the redhead to lose her balance, and fall, and she crawled backwards until her back was up against one of the trees, and stared at her for a few seconds beforew pulling back a little then started making a strange gagging sound.

"I knew that this dragon was dangerous! Angus! Come over here right now, I need yer help!" The redhead called out, and in a matter of seconds, her loyal and trustworthy horse appeared, and Hiccup's eyes widened, as he got a really good close-up view of what her horse looked like.

Angus was a huge Clydesdale who stood nearly twice as tall as both Hiccup and her owner, which was the redhead, and he had a soft coat which was jet black except for the white on all four of his huge hooves, and a small patch of white between his big brown eyes.

"Wait a minute, I swear, Toothless has no intention of eating or attacking you, which is why you don't need to be saved or anything, Toothless just wanted to give you something, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to fall right onto your lap in three. .two. .one. ." Hiccup counted.

Toothless opened up his mouth and half of the fish the redhead gave him slid down the dragon's tongue and right into her lap, and the redhead stared down at the fish tail stunned, and disgusted, as the fish was covered in a gross mixture of dragon drool and pale green slime.

"I hope yer happy, Hiccup, at least, if that's actually yer real name, because not only did yer dragon manage to scare me, but also get my dress ruined, not that I really do care about it, so anyway, what exactly does yer dragon expect me to do with this now? It's already been eaten." The redhead mentioned.

"Yes, I can see that, which is why Toothless is waiting to see you eat some of it, and I know this because it's happened to me before when I wanted to gain his trust, but I understand if you don't want to do it, and I'm sure that there's a different way to earning his trust for yourself." Hiccup explained.

"I've never said that I didn't want to do it, so what do you think I am, chicken?" The redhead questioned, before taking a bite out of the fish, which obviously took Hiccup by surprise, considering that he wouldn't expect any girl from Berk, especially Astrid, to ever eat something that came from a dragon's mouth.

"Well then, I guess that you don't have to earn Toothless' trust any other way after all." Hiccup said, just as he put his hands on the dragon's neck, which caused the Night Fury to back up and give the redhead much more space, and especially enough for her to get back up on her feet.

"I never got a chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Princess Merida, and this is my horse, Angus, and we both come from Castle DunBroch, which is not so far away from here in Scotland. I'm the daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor, and I have three brothers, whose names are Hamish, Hubert, and Harris." Merida said.

"Merida, it's nice to meet you and your horse, and if I haven't said it before, I'm sorry for Toothless having you scared earlier, but wait, I almost forgot. There's still one more thing that you have to do that will show Toothless that he can trust you. Please give me your hand." Hiccup replied.

"Oh, really, than what was the whole point of having yer dragon almost bite my fingers off, have my back up against a tree, drop his eaten fish onto my dress, and stare at me until I ate a part of it, but anyway, what's going to happen now, does he have to smell and give my hand a lick?" Merida asked.

Despite what she said, Merida still lent out her hand, and as Hiccup took it, he suddenly felt goosebumps, since the only other girl in which he's touched their hand was Astrid, and Hiccup's touched her hands multiple times, so that's why it was strange to be feeling another girl's hand for the first time.

"Hello. . .Hiccup? Are ye alright? Can ye even hear what I'm sayin'?" Merida asked, but when he still didn't respond, while using her other hand that wasn't in Hiccup's grasp, she clapped her hands in front of his face to help him wake up from this unexpected and unknown spell that he was put under.

"Sorry to have you worried, Merida, but I was just thinking about something, and honestly, it's not really important right now, so anyway, I swear nothing bad is going to happen, you're only going to have your hand on a spot above his nose, and between both of his eyes.

"Just have patience, keep your hand out towards him, and wait for Toothless to come to you," Hiccup said, before letting go of her hand, and turning his head around to face his animal friend, and motioning for him to come closer with one of his hands, and so the dragon took small steps in Merida's direction.

Toothless stopped moving until his head came just below Merida's waiting palm, and he closed his eyes before raising his head and then pressing his nose into her palm, and Merida quietly gasped with the soft feeling of it, as well as the warmth running into her palm, and coming right down her arm too.

"So, Merida, do you feel that now?" Hiccup asked softly, and Merida quickly brought her face up from staring at her hand to look at Hiccup with a expression of awe, while nodding, and he could immediately tell that this was the very first time that she actually got up close and made a deep connection with a dragon.

"It feels. . .amazing, and believe it or not, Hiccup, I've never felt something like this during the times when I've rode Angus through this same forest or even those few times when I climbed up to the Crone's Tooth, and drank water from the Fire Falls, which is what I've heard about in ancient songs and stories." Merida answered.

"I'm guessing that the Crone's Tooth is a tall mountain somewhere around this land, and the Fire Falls is a waterfall, which I hope isn't actually made up of real fire? There's not much mountains and waterfalls where I came from, and unlike the other dragons, nobody does find it useful to give them a name." Hiccup said.

"Other dragons? Where exactly did ye and yer dragon come from, because I'm sure it's not one of the other three clans, because I do remember that they didn't bring any dragons along with them when they visited my family's kingdom in the past, so tell me, Hiccup, where did ye come from?" Merida asked.

"Since you've already told me where you're from, I should do the same as well. Me and Toothless have come from the island of Berk, which is the home or village to the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, and it's also where my father is the chief, and his name is Stoick the Vast. Have you ever heard of him before?" Hiccup questioned.

"No, I haven't heard of your father or even Berk, for that matter, but what I also want to know is why ye're not in yer village right now? As for me, I'm not at the castle because my parents recently allowed me to go on a trip around these woods, and they didn't need to worry about me, since it would be only a week," Merida explained. "So anyway, why aren't ye in Berk?" Merida asked.

"My father wants me to get married to a girl by the end of the summer, and even though I've known her ever since we were kids, the two of us didn't start dating until a few months ago, and it wasn't until this morning that she decided to say that she loved me, and my father telling me about the marriage contract with her parents. I tried to tell my father that it was too soon for me and this girl to get married, but he didn't listen, and said that the marriage would be a good thing to happen, not only for our families, but also for the village altogether, so I left, but not before leaving behind a letter saying that I needed time to think about making a real committment to this girl, and so I would be gone for at least one week, since I think that would be enough time for me." Hiccup explained.

"Believe it or not, Hiccup, but it seems like we have another thing in common, besides having a best friend who's an animal, and that's having yer family pressure ye into gettin' married just for the sake of bringing a truce and making peace with yer enemies, because that's what happened to me a few weeks ago." Merida responded.

"Really, then if you don't mind, please tell me how did you manage to get yourself out of it?" Hiccup asked, as he carefully took a seat down on the grass, and Merida did the same as well, along with their animal friends laying on the ground too, since it didn't seem like any of them had some other place to be at the moment.

"I hope that ye don't mind havin' to hear a long story, but I'll still try to make it as short as possible, so that way, tellin' the whole story won't have to take hours. I'll start with the legendary tale of Mor'du, the demon bear who usually spent most of his time secretly roamin' through the wilderness of this forest. Once, there was an ancient kingdom, it's name long forgotten, and the kingdom was ruled by a wise, and fair king, who was much beloved. When the king grew old, he divided the kingdom among his four sons, that they should be the pillars on which the peace of the land rested, but it wouldn't stay that way forever. The oldest prince wanted to rule the land for himself, so he followed his own path, and the kingdom fell to war, chaos, and ruin. Now Hiccup, it's very important that ye remember what I just told ye, because the oldest prince of that kingdom is going to come up much later in the story, do ye understand?" Merida asked, and Hiccup simply gave a nod with his head.

"Many years ago, on my birthday, I was given a bow as a present from my dad, and while practicing, I accidentally shot an arrow into the forest, so when I went to get the arrow, I spotted a trail of will o' the wisps that led me back to my parents." Merida said.

She was about to continue with the story when Hiccup raised up one of his hands, and although Merida was a little annoyed that Hiccup didn't let her continue, she still believed that he needed to know about something she just said to him, so he could understand the story.

"Wait, will o' a what? Merida, I'm sorry to interrupt, but could you please describe what those are to me?" Hiccup asked. "I'm not sure whether I've already seen them before or not." He added, while still feeling bad for cutting in Merida's story so early.

"Will' o' the wisps are small, floatin' blue lights, and they usually come out for those who venture out after sunset on unfamiliar pathways, and they're said to lead ye to treasure or to doom, or in other words, to change yer fate." Merida explained.

Hiccup widened his eyes for a moment, and his jaw almost dropped when he realized that these were the same blue lights that led him to find Merida, but maybe it meant that he just needed somebody who knew this land, and maybe to guide him through it too.

"Now then, as I was sayin', my mum told me that the will o' the wisps lead you to your fate, but my dad didn't believe it and walked away, when suddenly, Mor'du came out to attack us, and my dad fought off the bear long enough to give me and my mum a chance to escape on horseback, but it came at the cost of his left leg."

Once again, Hiccup raised up one of his hands and went ahead with talking, but this time, not even bothering to stop and wait for Merida to ask what it was that he needed to know more about, but Hiccup just wanted to point something out, and it was something that he actually had in common with Merida's father.

"It seems like me and our father already have something in common. We've both lost part of our left leg in battle. If you want, I could tell you the story of how I lost it sometime, and one more thing, I'm sorry for interrupting for a second time, and I promise that it won't happen again. Please continue." Hiccup said.

"Are ye sure, Hiccup, because I swear if ye raise your hand one more time, then not only will I not go through with tellin' the story, but both ye and yer dragon can find somewhere else in this land to stay for the rest of the week, and you wouldn't want that, because this land is very dangerous." Merida replied.

"Hold on, Merida, you mean that you really don't mind me and Toothless staying here in the forest with you and your horse? I'm sure that you weren't expecting any company, and I didn't think that it would be such a good idea, since having us around might probably ruin your trip and all." Hiccup responded.

"Are ye kiddin', Hiccup? I just felt the warmth of yer dragon comin' into my hand and runnin' all the way down my arm for the first time ever. I don't think that ye've been in this land before, so it might be better for the both of ye to stick around with someone who knows their way around it, don't ye think?" Merida asked.

"Yeah, you're right, it would be a lot better. . .and oh, wait, that reminds me," Hiccup took a quick look around before getting up from the ground. "Before I left my village, I packed a basket with things that I would need, like clothes, and I'm sure that I left it a spot which isn't so far away from here. I'm just going to get it, and I'll be back, okay?" Hiccup answered.

"Alright, me and Angus will be waitin' right here for ye to come back, and ye might want to have yer dragon come along with ye for protection, because ye wouldn't want to have him goin' off into the forest right now, especially since it's about to get dark really soon." Merida said, before getting up from the ground.

"That's a good idea." Hiccup replied, and turned around to face Toothless. "Come with me, bud. I have to get my basket before nighttime sets in." He told his dragon, and with Toothless now following him from behind, Hiccup carefully walked across to the other side of the stream and back into the forest again.

When Hiccup looked back, he could see that Merida was already standing just at the end of the stream and also had her bow in her hand with an arrow placed in it, while aiming the arrow down at the stream, as she was waiting to catch a fish for herself, and he was kinda hoping that she would catch another for him too. Suddenly, a brand new trail of blue lights appeared right in front of Hiccup, and Toothless was about to run ahead and pounce on them again when Hiccup put both of his hands on the dragon's nose, which stopped him from going any further, and Hiccup thought that he should follow the will o' the wisps on his own this time.

"Toothless, please stay right here. These lights are going to help me find my basket, and I won't be gone for a long time, so could you wait until I get back? Don't worry, I'll let you chase the lights for another time." Hiccup said, and although his best friend was hesitant for a while, he eventually agreed, by making a sitting position.

With seeing that action done by Toothless, Hiccup turned around to head in the direction of where the will o' the wisps were taking him, and while each of the floating blue lights disappeared as he came closer to every one, Hiccup started to think more about why exactly would the lights lead him to Merida. Was it even the slightest bit possible that the will o' the wisps led their way for Hiccup find this redhead because maybe, she was the one whom Hiccup is meant to be with? Hiccup instantly shook the idea out of his mind, and thought that it was considering that he's only known Merida for less than an hour, and so he went back to following the floating blue lights until he found his basket, and Hiccup was able to find his way back to Toothless with the help of another trail of will o' the wisps.


	4. Stories & Legends

Just as Hiccup had started to walk on the path leading him back to Toothless, with the will' o the wisps as his personal guide, he heard his stomach making sounds of their own. Once again, he was hoping that right now, Merida had already caught a fish from the stream with an arrow, and started to have the fish cooked by roasting it over a warm fire. Hiccup also couldn't wait to hear the rest of the redhead's story, since he got interested from hearing about her family, the will' o the wisps, and a dangerous bear named Mor'du. Hiccup carried the basket over his right shoulder and was happy to see that Toothless did exactly what he was told with not moving around the forest and waiting for him to come back.

"Thanks for staying right here, bud!" Hiccup said, as he came forward and shortly rubbed his best friend's nose. "Now we should get back to Merida and her horse before they start to worry." He added.

Toothless nodded, and so he followed Hiccup from behind as the Viking went the same way out of the forest, and back to the stream, which he carefully walked across, with the basket still on his shoulder.

"Hiccup! It's good to see that ye've come back here in one piece, so I guess that there wasn't any trouble with findin' yer basket, huh?" Merida asked, while holding her bow with one hand, and an arrow with another fish in the other.

"Nope, it wasn't a problem finding the basket, as well as getting back here, because I got some help from those will o' the. . ." Hiccup trailed off, as he began to think hard for a moment about what helped him find his way back.

"Those will o' the wisps?" Merida said, as she laid down her bow on the ground, but not before she stuck the fish-wielding arrow at a nearby spot, and she started on making another fire, because the last one somehow went out.

"Yes, that's right, and I was going to say that, but I kinda forgot the name of them so quickly," Hiccup replied, before putting his focus on Merida's efforts to start a fire with two stones, which didn't seem to be working at all for her.

"Merida, would you like some help there, because it's probably going to take you all night if keep doing that," Hiccup added, then he turned around to face Toothless.

"Hey, bud, you wouldn't mind giving our friend a little help," Hiccup said, and he quickly started to think about a certain word he said right when after it came out of his mouth.

Was it much too soon for Hiccup to be calling Merida a friend, even though she did allow him and Toothless to stick around with both her and her horse for the night. Merida grew up in this land for her whole life, so she obviously knew it very well, and it wouldn't have been a bad idea to have her at least guide them through the land. Hiccup's thoughts about Merida were instantly interrupted when Toothless shot a fireball to the pile of sticks on the ground, which created a fire warm enough for all of them.

"Seems like yer dragon has managed to save me from possibly spendin' almost the whole night workin' on a fire for us, so please tell him that I said thanks." Merida said.

"I should probably make sure to do that right now before I forget," Hiccup replied, before looking over at Toothless. "Thank you for helping Merida out, bud." He added.

The Viking scratched the Night Fury under his chin for only a few seconds, which caused Toothless to give back his own affection, with licking his best friend in the face. Merida couldn't help but let out a few laughs as she watched the cute and adorable moment between Hiccup and Toothless happen not so far away in her sight.

"Now then, Hiccup, are ye gonna be all lovey dovey with yer dragon, or do ye wanna hear the rest of the story that I was beginning to tell earlier?" Merida asked.

"I still want to hear the story but. . ." Hiccup answered, as he took a seat on the ground, having his legs crossed. "I haven't eaten anything since this morning so. . ."

"Ye were hopin' for me to catch a fish for ye, right?" Merida guessed, and soon enough, she got back up on her feet, but not before grabbing her bow and another arrow.

"Yeah, but only if you don't mind," Hiccup replied, before turning to Toothless. "I would want my friend here to help, but he'll probably just eat the fish as soon he catches it." He added.

Toothless shot Hiccup a glare, but the dragon eased up when he realized that what the boy had said was right, because Hiccup needed to have something to eat too.

"No, I don't mind, Hiccup, but maybe later, I could give ye some personal lessons in archery, so that way, ye could be able to catch a fish on yer own." Merida suggested.

"Sure, I would like that," Hiccup said, while taking a look around. "Of course, it might be best to do those lessons when the sun is out, and not in the dark." Hiccup added.

"I agree, because ye won't ever find yer target at nighttime," Merida responded, while placing an arrow in her bow. "Now if ye excuse me, I have a fish to catch for ye."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." Hiccup said, giving her a grin as he looked up at her, but to his surprise, Merida didn't look back and kept walking over to the stream.

Hiccup was beginning to believe that Merida was upset with him for having her catch a fish, but he was sure that as soon as he learns archery, she wouldn't be anymore. Toothless laid down on the grass, right next to Hiccup, who decided to lay against the dragon's stomach for a while, until they both heard the sound of an arrow being shot.

"I've got good news, Hiccup, it didn't take me that long to catch dinner for ye," Merida said, as she came in front of the Viking and his dragon to show them the fish she caught.

"I'll go have it cooked for ye too, but yer still gonna make it up to me by learning how to do archery tomorrow morning, so ye can catch yer own breakfast." Merida added.

"I know that I've said this already, but thanks, Merida, and so I promise that from now on, or after I've learned archery tomorrow, you won't have to catch a fish for me ever again." Hiccup replied.

"I'm glad to hear that, Hiccup, and luckily, it's not gonna take a long time for yer fish to be cooked either, so ye shouldn't have to wait a while for it to be done." Merida said.

"Honestly, a cooked fish isn't the only thing I can't wait for, as I'm still wanting to hear the rest of your story, but you and I should probably eat our fish first." Hiccup responded.

"Yes, because it's much better to be tellin' a story without havin' food in yer mouth, and just so ye know, that's one of the things my mother has taught me." Merida reminded.

"I'm sure that you feel very lucky to still have your mother in your life, because mine passed away when I was just a kid, and I still believe that her death was my fault." Hiccup revealed.

Right when Hiccup had said all of that, just as she was about to take a bite of the fish she caught, Merida lowered it down from her mouth, and gave a look of sadness.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Hiccup, but why would ye think it's yer fault that yer mum died, like she didn't pass away after giving to you, did she?" Merida asked curiously.

"No, luckily, she didn't, although it was quite painful for her, and she was around to take care of me, that is, until a dragon raid happened in my village. Even though I was told to stay inside the house, I went out anyway, most likely because a thunder storm was happening on the same night too, and she would always make me feel safe and protected." Hiccup explained.

"Hiccup, ye shouldn't keep blamin' yerself, since all of that guilt isn't goin' to help ye out with anything, but did ye and yer father ever talk about it?" Merida asked, before taking a bite out of the fish.

"He's told me many times that it wasn't my fault, but I still manage to feel gulity that I distracted her from saving the livestock from the dragons." Hiccup answered.

"Ye know, Hiccup, there was actually a time when I almost lost my Mum, it wasn't so long ago from now, and that's really what my story is about." Merida mentioned.

"Oh, really, then I guess that I'm going to finish eating this whole fish quickly so I can get to hear the entire thing as soon as possible." Hiccup announced.

"Hold on, Hiccup, ye can still get to listen to my story while yer eating that fish, so there's no reason why ye shouldn't take yer time with it." Merida reminded.

"Alright, but I was just thinking that it would be nice of me to give my full attention to you, and not be focused with doing something else." Hiccup responded.

"Well, if ye really want to finish eating it, take yer time with making slow bites, and no matter what, don't stuff the whole thing down." Merida advised.

"I'm guessing that it was your mother who told you both of those things? Either way, those are good tips for eating at the dinner table." Hiccup complimented.

"I learned both of them during my lessons, and there have been times when my Mum would repeat those tips so that I didn't forget them." Merida mentioned.

"In the past, even though I was told to do something by a lot more than one person, I would still not listen to them, and do the exact opposite." Hiccup said.

"Were ye always the local troublemaker in the village back then, or did ye just not like being told what to do and what not to do by people?" Merida asked.

"Neither, but since I was the only child to my parents, they didn't want me to get into any trouble, such as run off somewhere and get myself hurt." Hiccup answered.

"When I was a child, before my brothers were born, my parents would let me go off into the forest, but only if I accidentally shot an arrow that went there." Merida said.

"Wow, so Merida, even when you were young, your parents trusted you enough to let you go to places on your own? Don't you think that wasn't a good idea?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm sure that my Mum and Dad were always worried while I was gone, but they'd know that I would eventually find my way out and come back to them." Merida replied.

"Well, for me, unless either my mother or father had their eyes on me the whole time, I couldn't be allowed to spend time at any place on Berk all by myself." Hiccup said.

"That must have been such a shame for you, and I don't mean to ruin this whole conversation we have goin' here, but would you like to hear the story now?" Merida asked.

"Oh, absolutely, Merida, but I still think that I should eat the rest of this fish before you even start, since I don't want to make any interruptions for you." Hiccup responded.

"Alright, but while yer doing that, I'll just. . ." Merida trailed off as she turned around to look for her horse. ". . .spend some time with Angus until yer done." Merida finished.

"I'll do what you said with taking my time, but I'll also try not to take so long either, I promise." Hiccup said, while looking up at Merida before taking a bite out of his fish.

Merida gave a quick thumbs up with her right hand to Hiccup after she got up from the ground, and made her way over to sit down with her trusty four-legged childhood friend.

"Sorry to bother ye, Angus, but there's no way that I'd want to be spendin' the next few minutes watchin' that boy eat a fish that he didn't even catch for himself!" Merida said.

Upon hearing that, Angus was getting prepared to swat Merida in the face with his tail, and unfortunately, the horse couldn't be able to do that, since the redhead was much closer to his head than his backside. Angus didn't seem to find the boy as a problem at all, since he was even willing to take up archery lessons from Merida the next morning, so that she wouldn't need to catch another fish for him anymore. The Clydesdale snorted in Merida's face, hoping his friend would somehow get the message that she was being a little too harsh about the company they had closeby, and luckily, it had managed to work.

"Yeah, I know that he's never learned how to use a bow and arrow, he told me himself, but does he really think that I won't have his attention if he's eatin' a fish?" Merida questioned.

Angus figured that the boy was just trying to be nice, since he and Merida hadn't ever met before, not to mention the fact that he knows she's also a Scottish princess. Merida turned around to take a look of how much progress Hiccup has done with eating his fish so far, and she was surprised to see that he was almost finished with it.

"Well, it doesn't seem like he's only doin' it to get on my nerves or anythin', and I have to admit that it was rather cool to feel the warmth of his dragon's nose." Merida said.

Angus was glad to know that the boy's dragon wasn't much of a problem for Merida either, despite the way that he just showed up, and almost scared the heck out of her.

"Anyway, as soon as Hiccup's dinner is over, I'm goin' to tell him the story of how I almost lost my Mum, and after that, we'll call it a night and get some sleep." Merida added.

Right after the horse gave a nod with his head, Angus and the girl both heard a rather loud noise which sounded most like a burp, and they turned their heads to where it came from.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Hiccup said, before bringing up one of his sleeves to his mouth so that he could wipe away any drooly spots he might have gotten from eating.

"Now that yer done, can I get to tell ye the story, or is there anything else that ye want to do?" Merida asked, while walking over to the grassy spot where Hiccup was sitting at.

"No, there's nothing that I can think of at the moment, so yes, you can now tell the story to me and Toothless." Hiccup answered, backing up a little to give Merida more space.

"Just so ye know in advance, I'm goin' to try and make this story as short as possible, because I'd like to get enough sleep so that I'll have lots of energy for yer archery lesson tomorrow." Merida reminded.

"I'm okay with that, since I don't think it's really important to hear every single thing, and it would be best for all of us to get our rest as soon as possible." Hiccup said.

"Glad to hear that from you, but I don't want to hear anythin' else from the time I begin this story to the moment when it's all over. Understand?" Merida questioned.

Hiccup gave his response with a simple nod of his head, and at the same time, he was telling himself in his head not to say a word or even raise one of his hands either.

"Now then, where was I?" Merida said, while thinking for a moment. "Oh, yes! Many years passed ever since my dad lost his leg to Mor'du, and as I grew up, I became more much free-spirited, and adventurous. That's why all I wanted was to have a free life, but my Mum preferred that I should focus on bein' a proper princess, since that title came with important duties and responsibilities. From the way that I saw it, with her endless lessons and high expectations, she was teachin' me so I could grow up to become just like her.

After I returned home from ridin' Angus on a day when I had no lessons, my Mum told me at dinner that the clans of Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall would be coming, and the Lords would present their sons as suitors to compete in a competition for my hand in marriage, and of course, I wasn't happy about it at all. My Mum came to my room and reminded me about the legend of the prince who ruined his own kingdom by puttin' himself first over others, and also warned me that a failure to marry could result in a war happenin' between the four clans, but I was still unhappy and unsatisfied with the whole arrangement.

A few days passed before the clans arrived, and to make me look ready and prepared like a princess should, Mum had me wear a tight formal dress. I wasn't impressed by any of the suitors presented to me, and a brawl soon broke out between the clans, which had my Mum disgusted, so she quickly put an end to it. She announced that only the firstborn of the great leaders may compete in the challenge, which gave me an idea of how to get out of the marriage, and since it was up to me to decide on what the challenge was going to be, I declared to the clans that it would be none other than my favorite hobby of mine, archery.

Before the competition began, I snuck my bow and arrow behind my throne, and as the suitors shot at the targets, I talked with my dad about each of them until one of the suitors, who was the son of Lord Dingwall, won by accident, striking a bulls-eye, and that's when I went off to the field and declared I will shoot for my own hand. Ignorin' my mother's protests, I struck a bulls-eye at the first two targets, and I smiled as I shot another arrow that went through the full length of Wee Dingwall's arrow and through the target, before turning around to face my Mum, who I could see was obviously furious, and she dragged me back to the tapestry room.

Right when we got there, the two of us had an argument about my actions out in the field, with my Mum calling me a child and me calling her a beast for trying to ruin my life, and while using a sword, I went over to the sewed family tapestry and made a tear between the spot that had me and my Mum side by side. My Mum took my bow and threw it into a fire, and I ran away, devastated, from the castle on Angus in tears, and we rode through the forest until we came across a Ring of Stones, and I soon saw a trail of will o' the wisps, which I decided to follow, and they led me and Angus all the way to an old woodcarver's cottage.

After noticin' a broom sweepin' by itself and hearin' a talkin' crow, I discovered that this old woodcarver was actually a witch, but she tried to deny it, and told me to leave, while threatenin' me with a lot of floatin' knives, and said that she wouldn't help me unless I bought any of her wooden carvings that she'd made. I offered to buy all of her carvings with my pendant in exchange for a spell that would change my fate, and so the witch gave in, conjurin' up a cake, and told me that she did this spell before for a prince who wanted the strength of ten men and got what he wanted, and somehow, I found myself back at the Ring of Stones.

I returned to the castle, and snuck into the kitchen to make the cake look presentable, and just when I was finished, my Mum entered the room, relieved that I was back home, and so I quickly gave her the cake as a peace offering, and after she had just a piece of the cake, she suddenly started to feel very sick. I took my Mum up to her room, while believin' that the spell was already taking effect, but after I got my Mum into her bed, she soon rolled off of it to the other side of the floor, while still bein' covered up by the blanket, and I began to hear strange sounds from under it, and I walked over to see if she was alright.

The blanket that my Mum was under started to get higher than me, and it finally came off to reveal that my Mum had transformed into a bear, which left me horrified, but with the help of my brothers, we managed to escape the castle without being caught, and we retreated back into the forest, to the witches cottage. The witch wasn't inside, but she did leave a message for me with a cauldron by using a potion, saying that by the second sunrise, the spell would be permanent, and the only way to break the spell was to remember this riddle "Fate be changed, look inside, mend the bond, torn by pride."

I began to panic, thinkin' that there wasn't another message for me, so l tossed the other potions into the cauldron, which created an explosion that destroyed the cottage, and as it started to rain, me and my Mum decided to take shelter in what was left of the cottage for the night. Durin' the night, I had a dream about a memory of me as a child with my Mum as we were both singin' a Scottish lullaby, and when I woke up, I saw that my Mum brought breakfast for both of us, with it bein' nightshade berries and water, but unfortunately, the berries were poisonous and the water had worms with it.

We came across a river, and while we were there, I taught my Mum on how to catch fish, which had us bondin' for a small period of time before my Mum headed into the forest, and when I caught up with her, my Mum suddenly prowled up to me, and acted as if she was about to attack me, but luckily, it didn't happen. The two of us saw a trail of will o' the wisps, which we followed, and they led me and my Mum to the ruins of a old castle, and I fell down through a pit to come into the throne room, and I realized it was the same kingdom from the story my Mum had told me about many times before.

I found an engraved stone of the King's four brothers, but a part with the fourth brother had been split, just like when I had cut my Mum apart from me on the family tapestry, and I realized that the witch's spell happened before, and that the brother was transformed into the raging bear Mor'du. When I turned around, there was Mor'du, who had been living in the ruins for all this time, and tried to attack me, but I barely escaped with the help of my Mum, and we ran away from the ruins of the castle until we were at the Ring of Stones.

I realized that if we didn't break the spell in time, then my Mum would become just like Mor'du, like a real bear forever, and I remembered that the witch told me I had to "mend the bond torn by pride", so I was sure that the spell would be broken if we went back to the castle and sewed the family tapestry back together. Peekin' into the Great Hall, we saw my Dad and the lords behind barricades, hurlin' weapons at each other, on the brink of war, and since my Mum was a bear, she couldn't do anythin' to stop them, so I walked into the room and told everyone that I'd been in conference with my Mum.

The lords demanded to see my Mum, but I told them to be quiet, and I saw that my Mum had snuck into the room, and froze into a still position so that she wouldn't be seen and attacked, so with the help of my Mum, I gave a speech about how the clans were once enemies. When they were threatened by the Northern Invaders, they joined together to defend their lands, and when they won the war, the clans made my Dad their king for bringing them together and made an alliance, one that was forged in bravery and friendship, and still lived to this day.

I admitted that I'd been selfish, tore a great rift in our bond, and there was no else to blame but myself, but I knew that I had to make things right by amendin' my mistake and restoring our bond, so just when I was about to announce my decision with whom to marry, I saw my Mum shakin' her head. With sign language from my Mum, I told everyone that she had decided to break tradition because she felt in her heart that we should be free to write our own stories, follow our hearts, and find love in our time, and both the Lords and their sons agreed to this.

I noticed a guard starin' at my Mum and so I managed to get rid of everyone by telling them to go to the cellar to celebrate, and once they were all gone, my Mum and I headed to the the tapestry room, but not long after my Mum began to look for a thread and needle, she was acting like a wild bear again. When my Dad came into the room, my Mum attacked him, and did a small cut on my right arm, but she quickly snapped out of it, and upon seeing that she harmed both me and my Mum, she left, and I tried to tell my Dad that the bear was his wife he refused to listen, and locked her in the tapestry room for protection.

I called out to the castle's maid Maudie to come and open the door, but then my brothers showed up, and I saw that they turned into bears from eatin' the cake, and I asked for their help to get the key from Maudie, and soon enough, they got it and released me from the tapestry room. The four of us rode on Angus while I sewed up the tapestry, and soon a trail of will o' the wisps led us to where my Mum had been captured by my Dad, as well as the other soldiers, and I fought my Dad to stop him from killing my Mum, but then, Mor'du appeared, and everyone's attention was brought to him.

Mor'du fought off my Dad and all the other soldiers who attempted to kill him, and just when he tried to attack me, my Mum rushed in, savin' me just in time, and fought Mor'du for a while before bashin' him against a weakened stone pillar, which fell and crushed him to death. I saw a wisp emerge from the stone, and it showed the human form of the fourth brother, and he gave a nod with his head, as if it was in acknowledgement and gratitude He then flew away to live with all the other wisps, and as the sun started to come up, I realized it was the second sunrise.

I rushed over to my Mum, and put the sewn tapestry on top of her, and it didn't seem to work, from seeing my Mum's eyes changed, I believed that the spell had become permanent, and I had failed, so I tearfully hugged my Mum and apologized for everythin' and told her I loved her. Suddenly, I felt a human hand touching my hair, and I looked up to see that my Mum was human again, and my brothers were also back to being human, but the difference is that my Mum had the tapestry to cover herself, and my Mum and I reconciled, before all of us headed back to the kingdom. A few days passed, and durin' that time, me and my Mum had worked on a new tapestry until one day, we were called to the docks to say goodbye to the Lords, and after, we rode on our horses to journey around Scotland, making our bond stronger than before. . .the end." Merida said.

She took a deep breath to relax herself, especially after talking for such a long time, before facing Hiccup and speaking up again. "So, what did ye think of it?" Merida asked.

"I'd say that you're already an expert in telling a story, but what were all of the things that you've learned from that whole experience?" Hiccup questioned, curious.

"I've learned that puttin' a spell on my Mum was a rash and stupid thing to do, and also when I saw the clans fightin', I realized that my Mum was right all along. My actions were truly causin' problems between the clans that could have developed into wars, and my duties and responsibilities are important, because they effect not only my life, but also the lives of others, such as the lives of the other clans. I've realized that one day I will rule a kingdom, but if I'm going to be Queen, then it's important for me to put the needs of others before my own." Merida responded.

"I should make sure to remember that when I take over my dad's position as chief of the village, and I know that he'll have me prepared for it." Hiccup mentioned.

"Yes, that's a good idea, well anyway, it's late, and I'm sure that all of us are tired, so we should put out the fire and get some sleep right now." Merida suggested.

"I agree, and maybe sometime tomorrow, I could tell you the story of how me and Toothless not only became friends, but also brought peace to my village." Hiccup offered.

"Of course, Hiccup, I'd like to hear that story," Merida said, before taking a look at the campfire. "You know, this fire is just going to die out, so we can just leave it alone."

"Okay then, goodnight, Merida, and I can't wait for my archery lesson tomorrow," Hiccup said, before laying himself down next to his dragon's chest, and closed his eyes.

"Right back at ye, Hiccup." Merida replied, as she laid down next to Angus, and closed her eyes too, with both the humans and their friends eventually falling asleep.


	5. Target Practice

Hiccup took a deep breath while adjusting his clothes once again, for that he especially didn't want to embarrass himself by tripping on his own fur cloak, even though he was wearing it properly from the back. He turned around to face Toothless, and then the Viking could easily tell from the dragon's face that he knew the boy was worrying too much, and he should just sit down and relax with all of the time he had left to himself.

"Bud, I know what you're thinking, but I'm sure that if you were in my position, you wouldn't be feeling so calm the whole time, because what's about to happen for me is such a big deal!" Hiccup said.

Just right after he said that, Hiccup realized that he was actually getting a little too stressed out, and so he took another deep breath, but he still knew this day had a big event that's been planned for many weeks. This event happened to be none other than Hiccup's wedding to Astrid, for which the ceremony would take place at a clearing somewhere in the forest, while the reception would be held in the Great Hall back in the village. The clearing chosen for the ceremony wasn't exactly the same one where Toothless and Hiccup's friendship began, because Hiccup had insisted on the location of that clearing be only known by him, his dragon, and soon-to-be wife.

"On second thought, buddy, you're right," Hiccup said, while walking closer to Toothless. "This is something that Astrid has wanted, and I want it too. I mean, it's not like either of us are going to get cold feet when we're at the altar, right?" He asked.

Toothless only gave a shrug to his friend, before turning his head to the stairs and baring his teeth, as he could hear somebody going up each of the steps, but the dragon soon relaxed right when he saw that it was just Hiccup's father who appeared.

"Uh-huh," Hiccup said in a cocky manner. "So it seems like I'm not the only one who needs to relax around here, but Toothless, you don't have to look out for me whenever I'm at home, although it's still nice of you to do that." Hiccup added.

"Hey, son, I hope that I wasn't interrupting anything, now was I?" Stoick asked, with a slightly worried look on his face, while coming off the stairs, entering into Hiccup's room, but saw Hiccup immediately shaking his head towards him.

"Oh no, Dad, you weren't," Hiccup said, before turning his head to face his friend. "Me and Toothless were just in panic mode about two different things, but it's all over now." He explained, as he rested a hand on top of the dragon's head.

"So anyway, how do I look?" Hiccup asked, as he took a few steps forward and did a full body turn quickly, since his attire wedding was pretty simple, with it being his green tunic and pants, but also wearing a fur cloak instead of a fur vest.

"Like how the son of the chief to this village should be dressed properly when he's getting married." Stoick answered, now having a grin on his bearded face. "Everyone's made it to the clearing you chose, so are you ready to go now?" He asked.

"Yes, I am, and I assume that Astrid will be making her entrance after I've made it down there too, because I'm sure it would be bad luck to see her before the wedding actually happens, right?" Hiccup questioned, 

"That's right, son, it would be," Stoick replied. "I remember following that same rule when I married your mother, and I'm sure that if she were still here, she would be very proud of you, just like I am." He added.

"Thanks, dad, that really means a lot to me," Hiccup said, before wrapping his arms halfway around the stomach of his father, who returned the affection by wrapping one arm around his son's back, while also rubbing Hiccup's head with a hand.

"Hey, stop it, dad, you're gonna ruin my hair, not that it looks bad right now, and besides the only way it could be ruined was if it got soaked, or worse, burned." Hiccup mentioned.

"Sorry, son, I guess that I got carried away, so I probably think that it's time for us to go now, because we wouldn't want to keep anyone waiting, right?" Stoick asked.

"Yes, of course, but first, I just need to get the rings I made for me and Astrid to give each other," Hiccup said, before walking over and opening up the drawer that was near his wooden bed. 

In the days ahead of the wedding, Hiccup took a trip to the blacksmith, so that he could forge a pair of silver rings, with each of them having an intricate design of the phrase 'Always & Forever' in Viking runes.

"So, dad, what do you think," Hiccup asked, while showing him the message from one of the rings. "You cannot imagine how long it took for me to get it done properly on both of these things, but I just hope that Astrid will like it." 

"Like it? With that kind of message, son, I'm pretty sure that she'll love it, and the love you two have for each other will last exactly what it says on those rings you made for one another." Stoick replied, with a grin on his face.

"Wow, dad, you sure are being a lot more sentimental to me than usual, but not I think that's a bad thing or anything, because I really don't mind it at all." Hiccup said.

"It's your wedding day, son, so I suggest that you get used to it, because I'm probably going to be this way right until you and Astrid. . .you know." Stoick responded, while raising both of his eyebrows at Hiccup.

At first, Hiccup didn't understand what his father was referring to exactly, and then he quickly thought about what happens for a newly married couple, when after both the ceremony and celebrations were over. . .

"Ohh, right, dad, now I know what you mean, but there's no need for you to give me 'the talk', because I think that we've already had it like last week." Hiccup reminded.

"I agree, and you're a smart kid, so I'm sure that you remember everything I've told you, so I don't think that I'll have to go over any part of it again." Stoick said, as he let Hiccup go first in walking down the stairs.

"That's such a relief," Hiccup said, but stopped, and turned to face his father." Wait, isn't there supposed to be like a sword exchange for me and Astrid to do during the ceremony?" He asked.

"Yes, son, that's right, and if you take a look over at the dinner table, you'll see the sword that belonged to your great grandfather, the one that you will entrust Astrid with yout life." Stoick answered.

Just when he came off the last step of the stairway, Hiccup turned and walked toward the dinner table, to find his ancestor's sword looking all shiny and polished, as if it had came from the forge.

"Wow, so this sword was used by my great grand uncle," Hiccup said, as he slowly picked it up by from the hilt and carried it over to his father. "Dad, maybe it's better if you hold this until we're at the clearing." He suggested.

"I understand, son, because you wouldn't want to give me, or even yourself a cut by accident," Stoick advised, as he took the sword from his son's hands. "Now then, let's head down to your wedding, shall we?" The chief asked.

Hiccup simply replied to that by giving a nod of his head, and so with the rings still in his hand, and Toothless ready to follow, the three of them all walked out of the house, with Stoick closing the front door of the house behind him.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Viking had been resting peacefully against his dragon's stomach, while dreaming of a moment with his father on his possible wedding day, when he could smell fresh fish, but he still didn't move, until he felt something hit him on the face.

"Oww, what the-" Hiccup began, as his eyes shot open, but quickly stopped himself from saying anything more when he saw that his face was in close contact with an arrow.

"Rise and shine', sleepyhead," Merida said, before moving the bow and arrow away from Hiccup's face. "It's time for ye to have yer first archery lesson!" She announced.

"First of all, would you please watch where you're aiming that thing," Hiccup replied, as he got himself up. "I mean, you could have poked my eye out!" He added.

"Well, I didn't, and then it would've been pointless for ye to even take up archery, but first, could ye wake up yer dragon, because I caught some fish for him." Merida mentioned.

"Hey, Toothless, can you please wake up," Hiccup said, while softly touching the Night Fury's nose. "Our friend has brought us fish to have this morning." Hiccup added.

"Actually, Hiccup, I caught fish for ye dragon, and for him only, because if ye want some too, then ye'll have to catch it on yer own after the lesson." Merida requested.

"Seriously," Hiccup was totally prepared to argue with the redhead, but decided that doing so wouldn't change her mind. "Alright, then let's get this lesson over with."

Right after he said that, Hiccup did a quick look around to see that Toothless was awake and had already eaten the fish that Merida was kind enough to catch for him.

"Come with us, bud, because you'll get to watch me learn how to use a bow and arrow, and if I get good enough, then I'll be able to catch a fish for you." Hiccup explained.

From hearing all of that, Toothless quickly ran up to his best friend's side, and so the two of them, along with Merida and her horse walked to an area in the forest with a lot of space for Hiccup to practice. Merida took a look around until she spotted a straw-stuffed target hanging in one of the trees, and luckily the target wasn't that far or high from them, nor did it have any of Merida's arrows still left on it.

"Hey, Hiccup, I've found a spot that's perfect for ye to work on yer archery," Merida said, just as she took off her bow from her back, and then placed an arrow into her bow.

"Now, which hand do ye use often, yer left or right, because that will be the hand needed to hold the bow, and ye'll have to use yer other hand to pull the bowstring back." Merida explained, while showing Hiccup with her bow.

"I'm left-handed, Merida, but is there anything else that I need to know first before I use it?" Hiccup asked, because he didn't want to shoot an arrow without knowing all the important things.

"Oh, that reminds me! Since this is going to be yer first time doin' archery, then ye'll need to wear this," Merida answered, before putting one of her hands into the left sleeve of her dark-blue dress.

Hiccup saw the girl pull out some kind of brace looking object that he's never seen before in Berk, but if it always helped Merida with a bow and arrow, then it should manage to be a big help for him too.

"This is called an arm guard, and ye have to put it on the arm that's goin' to hold the bow, because if ye don't, then yer arm will keep gettin' slapped by the bowstring, and it'll end up bein' awfully skinned." Merida clarified.

"That's good to know, because I'm definitely gonna wear it for this," Hiccup said, and as soon as the redhead held out the arm guard, he kindly took it from out of her hand, and placed it onto his left arm.

"There are a few other things that could help ye out, like a finger tab, bowlin', and a quiver, but I left them back at the castle, and I don't really think that ye'll need them as much as the arm guard." Merida mentioned.

"Alright, so tell me, what's the next thing that I do?" Hiccup asked, while he began to think shortly of maybe telling the people in Berk all about archery when he got back, and how it could be able to help them out around the village.

Merida handed the bow over to him before speaking again. "What ye need to do next is hold the bow with yer left hand, point yer left shoulder to the target, and handle the arrow that ye'll be using with yer right hand." She instructed.

From hearing all of that, Hiccup did each step that he heard from the girl, and even though the steps weren't quite too hard, Hiccup was impressed that he got them right so quickly, but didn't think it was necessary to say any cocky comments.

"So far, so good, and the next step is for ye to point the bow towards the ground, then place the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest, but since ye've never done this before, I'll show ye what to do." Merida said, before coming in front of Hiccup.

The Viking suddenly felt his heart beat a little faster, with also his skin flushing and heating up at the same time, when he saw the redhead come down to the level of his crotch. Even though Merida was only helping him out with the arrow, Hiccup couldn't help but feel flustered at the position she was in with him, especially since they had just met last night.

Despite the fact that he wasn't officially engaged, he still had a girlfriend, who happened to be waiting back at his home many miles away, and she was also the reason why he went on this trip. Before he goes back to Berk, Hiccup still had to decide if whether him and Astrid should take the next step in their relationship and become husband and wife, so he couldn't ever forget about that.

"Hello, Hiccup, can ye hear me, or did yer mind wander off into another world, or somethin'?" Merida asked, hoping that the boy would come out of his trance right away.

When it didn't happen after five seconds of time had passed, Merida came up to bring her face to Hiccup's face, and then she made a very big clap, using both of her hands. Luckily, the clap had managed to be loud enough to snap Hiccup out of it, as he blinked his eyes for a few times, while shaking his head to forget about what he was thinking.

"Oh, Merida, I'm sorry, but I was just thinking about something in my head again, and it's not really important, so we can get back to the lesson right now." Hiccup said.

"Well, there's something that I wanted to show ye first before we continue the lesson, and if you come down and look closely, then you can see it." Merida mentioned.

Hiccup soon got himself down on one knee, while the redhead went down on both of hers, and she put a finger to the area of the bow that she wanted Hiccup to look at.

"Ye see, Hiccup, this part right here is where ye must place down the arrow, because if it's not there, then ye won't be able to shoot yer arrow properly." Merida said.

"Okay, I got it." Hiccup replied, and just when he was about to get back up on his feet, he moved his eyes over from the arrow rest to his female instructor's face.

Hiccup's eyes lingered long enough to see that she had fair, beautiful skin, with light freckles on her round face, and both of her cheeks having a rosy color to them. When Merida went back to standing, Hiccup got rid of his thoughts on her face quickly before rising up to her level, and returning to the position he had with the bow.

"The next step is to have three of yer fingers to lightly hold the arrow on the bow string." Merida said, before using one of her hands to show Hiccup which fingers to use.

Hiccup could see that the only fingers she didn't have raised were both her thumb and pinky, and so he brought his index finger to hold the arrow, with his middle and ring fingers below.

"So, is this good, Merida, like am I holdng the arrow the way that I'm supposed to?" Hiccup asked, while making an attempt to look over at her without letting go of the arrow.

"Yeah, but ye should know that it's important to fully put yer concentration on the target, and never get yerself distracted, not even by yer tiredness." Merida mentioned.

After giving that advice, she walked over to Hiccup from behind, and slowly brought her left hand up to his own that was pulling the arrow back, while bringing her right hand over to his hand that was gripping the bow. Once again, Hiccup had become very uneasy with the closeness between the two of them, and he began hoping that it was only like that so Merida could help him out a little bit more with the lesson.

"If ye want a successful shot, Hiccup, then ye must have the bow held in a way that's relaxed as possible, so think of somethin' that does fit that description." Merida said, before stepping away.

Fortunately, it didn't take a long time for Hiccup to do just that, and he already had his mind focused on the feelings that he got while being up in the air with Toothless, and having the wind go through his hair.

"Good news, Merida, I've managed to think of something and I really do feel much more relaxed, so what is it that I do now?" Hiccup asked, then calmly waited for the next step of the princess' instructions.

"Ye aim the bow at the target, pull the arrow back to yer right cheek, and take a deep breath before releasing the arrow, and just keep yer eyes on the arrow until it hits the target." Merida tutored.

Hiccup went right ahead with doing each of those steps, and soon, a grin had grown on the boy's face, when he saw that he'd managed to actually make a good shot, although it wasn't a bulls-eye, but it was pretty darn close. The shot must have also left Merida, as well as Toothless and Angus very impressed too, since Hiccup could hear the girl clapping her hands closeby, while their friends did their own cheers, which consisted of neighing and growling.

"Thank you," Hiccup said, as he turned around to give a bow of gratitude and gratefulness for his small 'audience', then walked over to the target so that he could take the arrow from out of it, before going back with a wide smile.

"Seems like my lesson didn't take as long as I thought it would," Hiccup added, while he carefully handed over both the bow and the arrow that he shot with it to Merida.

"I guess not, but maybe ye could be a lot better if ye took a few more shots, because one near bullseye doesn't just make ye a master in archery." Merida suggested.

"Yeah, I agree, Merida, and besides, I didn't just become friends with Toothless only after I gave him a smile, it took quite a while for us to get to this place." Hiccup said.

Right after he said that, Hiccup used a hand to gently nuzzle a spot on the dragon's nose, which resulted in the Night Fury standing up to lick his friend on the boy's face.

"C'mon, bud, I love you too, but we have friends watching us, and I still have to get some breakfast for myself, so I need to practice a few more times, okay?" Hiccup asked.

Merida couldn't help but feel her face flush a little from not just watching the affection between Hiccup and Toothless, but also hearing the three words the Viking had said. That's when she realized that the bond they had was so much more than just a friendship, it was one being full of love, respect, acceptance, and trust towards one another.

However, the princess was sure that dragons and Vikings didn't always get along so well, which meant that they must have been at war with each other for a very long time. She also remembered that Hiccup didn't really give to her the story of how the war finally came to an end, but Merida hoped that he wouldn't mind in telling her all about it. Maybe after he's done the rest of his archery lesson and eaten something, she could ask to hear it because he might not be able to give a big story on an empty stomach.

"Hey, Merida." The redhead's train of thoughts came to a sudden stop when she heard Hiccup call her name and come closer, as if he had something that he wanted to say.

"You don't mind if I use a few more of your arrows, because I think that it would get tiring for me to go back and forth if I kept using one again and again." Hiccup requested.

"No, Hiccup, I don't mind at all, and later today, perhaps ye could tell me the story of how ye and Toothless managed to become friends, if that's alright." Merida mentioned.

"Of course, and the good part is that you won't have to wait too long for me to tell the story, but maybe it can wait until after I've finally eaten breakfast." Hiccup responded.

"That's exactly what I was thinkin, Hiccup, and when ye've done that story, perhaps we could get our friends movin' with a fun ride through the forest." Merida suggested.

"Speaking of a ride, I'm sure that Toothless has gotten enough energy to go for one later," Hiccup said, before looking down to face his best friend. "Don't you agree, bud?"

Toothless happily growled while nodding to Hiccup, and Merida took off her arrow carrying case from her shoulder, then handed it over to Hiccup, who slowly took it from her.

"Thanks, Merida, and I promise that you'll get all of your arrows back when I'm done," Hiccup pledged, before turning around to have himself in front of the target's direction.

With that being said, Hiccup remembered that he was still holding the arrow that he shot at the target, since Merida never did take it from him, so he decided to use it again. One by one, the Viking thought back on each step of the instructions that Merida had given to him in the lesson, and soon enough, Hiccup was aiming the arrow at the target. He shot the arrow, and although it wasn't a bullseye, it was pretty close, so Hiccup continued with shooting the arrows until there weren't any of them left in the carrying case.

"Wow, I must be a fast learner," Hiccup said, as he bent down to bring the bow on the ground, and went over to the target so that he could pull out each of the arrows from it.

"Yeah, it looks that way," Merida replied, before picking up her bow from off the grass, and waited until Hiccup returned so that she put all the arrows into the carrying case.

"Hiccup, I told ye earlier that if ye want some breakfast, then ye catch it yerself, so let's head over to the river and ye can show those fish what ye're made of." Merida added.

She put the bow back in one of Hiccup's hands, before taking a single arrow out from the carrying case, handing it over to him, and started walking with Angus to the stream.

"Hey, wait for us!" Hiccup called out, while running up to the girl, with Toothless following close behind, and it didn't take long until they caught up with Merida and her horse.

"Well, Hiccup, let's see if that lesson truly wasn't all for nothin'." Merida said, even though she didn't think that was actually true, especially with all of the great shots he did.

The boy carefully placed the arrow on the arrow rest before aiming his friend's bow at the water, but just when he was about to let the arrow go, something came in front of him. It's more like someone, as Merida now stood facing Hiccup's direction, which caused him to bring down the bow, and look at the girl for a short moment before speaking up.

"Merida, is there something wrong?" Hiccup asked, and he instantly gave himself a mental facepalm for asking that question, because why else would she not let him take the shot?

"What's wrong is that ye're not holdin' my bow the right way, because ye're not doin' just archery, but a special kind of fishing which is called 'bowfishing'." Merida answered.

"So if ye take a look at the arrow, ye'll see that it's a barbed arrow that's attached with a special line to a reel mounted on the bow." She continued, sounding very firm.

"Where's the reel, Merida, because I don't see it, and the only other way that could be possible was if I happened to be blind." Hiccup said, while being quite sarcastic.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hiccup, I forgot to mount the reel on the bow," Merida replied, before going forward to take her bow from his hands. "Don't worry, it won't take long."

After saying that, the redhead took something out of the carrying case for her arrows, and only less than thirty seconds had passed until Merida gave the bow back.

"Now this way, even if ye don't catch a fish, ye won't manage to lose the arrow either, and there's one more thing, ye have to hold the bow like this." Merida explained.

Once again, she took the bow from Hiccup's hands, and for about ten seconds, Merida held it in the position that she wanted him to be holding it in order to catch a fish.

"Alright, I got it now," Hiccup said, as he brought both of his hands out for Merida's bow, which she lended over to him, and then he turned around to face the stream.

Hiccup took a moment to look closely for any fish in the water, until he spotted one that wasn't far away and it had been swimming at a very slow pace for a while now. The Viking pulled the arrow back and held it for about a few seconds before letting it go, but he lost his hope to see that the arrow didn't manage to catch the fish at all.

"So I missed the shot," Hiccup said in his head, as he used the bow's reel to bring the arrow from out of the stream. "It's not the end of the world, I can just try again.'

When he got the arrow back in his hands, Hiccup placed it into the bow and had it aim at the water another time, but he made sure to have the arrow held back again. Just like the first time, Hiccup moved his eyes around to catch sight of a fish, and right when he saw one, that's when the boy let go of the arrow towards the stream. Unfortunately, it was another miss for Hiccup, who let out a mildly deep groan in displeasure, and went back to using the reel to get the same arrow out of the water.

Before placing it in the bow for the third time, Hiccup let all of the water drip off from the arrow by giving it a shake first, and he now aimed the bow at the stream. Instead of pulling back the arrow and holding it still right away, Hiccup waited to do that until he spotted a fish, and that's when he shot the arrow in the fish's direction. Hiccup took a closer look to the flowing water, and his eyes widened to see that he'd finally managed to have a fish caught, and so he pulled it out with one of his hands. Even with the arrow stuck through its body, the fish had been constantly flapping as if it was trying to escape, and a grin came on Hiccup's face, since the fish was big.

"So, Hiccup, are ye goin' to eat the fish now, or will ye just keep starin' at it for the rest of the day?" Merida asked, and saying that had gotten Hiccup out of his trance.

"Oh, Merida, I'm sorry," Hiccup answered, while turning his head to face the girl. "It's just I actually thought that catching a fish would take up the rest of our day."

"Well, it looks like ye're wrong about that," Merida said, while pointing at the fish that Hiccup was holding. "Now that ye've caught a fish, can I get my bow back?"

"Your bow?" Hiccup questioned, and then he realized that he'd still been grasping it with his other hand. "Yes, that's right, and thanks a lot for letting me use it."

"That's because ye needed to use it, but I'm sure that you don't need my help with makin' a fire, because ye have yer dragon for that?" Merida asked, assumingly.

"Yeah, I definitely know that Toothless will be happy to lend a hand for me," Hiccup replied, as he gave back Merida's bow to her. ". .or in this case, his mouth."

After saying that, Hiccup turned to face Toothless, and just when he was about to ask his friend to start a fire, the dragon had already shot a fireball to the ground.

"Thanks, bud." The Viking said, as he rubbed the Night Fury's nose, then crouched down to the fire and carefully, he held the fish that he caught over the flames.

It took a while, but Hiccup managed to have the fish cooked well enough for him to eat it, and he sat down on the grass, with Toothless being right next to him.

"So you still want to hear the story of how me and Toothless became friends?" Hiccup asked, then waited patiently for Merida to give any sort of response back.


	6. Dragon Vs. Horse

"Yeah, Hiccup, I still do, but I was thinkin' that story could wait until after we've given both of our friends some much needed exercise through the forest." Merida answered.

"Oh, right," Hiccup said, as he went back to standing again, while Toothless did the same by getting on all four of his legs. "That story can always be told for another time."

"We've already had storytime last night, so there's no need to have it this mornin', not when the sun's out and it's a good time for me to beat ye at a race." Merida replied.

"Hold on, Merida, if you actually believe that your horse is faster than a Night Fury, then I'd like to tell you in advance that you're sadly mistaken about that." Hiccup said.

"Is that so?" The redhead asked, and before Hiccup got a chance to respond to that question, Merida walked towards him until she had her face just inches away from his.

"Well in that case, I suggest ye get on that dragon of yers over there and prove it to me." Merida added in a firm tone, then headed back to get herself onto Angus' saddle.

Unbeknownst to the girl, she managed to leave Hiccup breathless for about ten seconds, until he snapped out of the trance on his own by blinking his eyes for a few times.

"So before I do that, Merida, shouldn't we decide on which place that we'll race off to first, and also on where we're going to meet after it's over?" Hiccup asked curiously.

That's when the princess stopped right where she was standing, and realized that Hiccup and Toothless were new to this land, since they've only been here since yesterday. Even though Merida did mention the Crone's Tooth and Fire Falls earlier, she wasn't sure if they had been to both of those places already, or had seen what they looked like.

"How about we race to the bottom of the Crone's Tooth mountain, since it's really the only one that I've visited in the past, so how does that sound?" Merida questioned.

"I'm good with that choice, but I don't think that I've seen the Crone's Tooth before, so is it just like every other mountain that's just covered up with grass?" Hiccup asked.

"No, it's completely made of rocks, and easy to climb, so when we get there, how about the person who can get themselves to the top will be the winner?" Merida suggested.

"Wait, you mean, actually climb a rocky mountain, because I don't think I'll be able to do it with my leg, so couldn't we just touch the side of the mountain?" Hiccup asked.

"If we did that instead, then it wouldn't be a lot more fun, and besides, once ye're at the top, ye'll get to see both the Highlands and DunBroch Harbor." Merida answered.

"You know that I could see those places by just riding Toothless, not by climbing up a mountain, but if I may ask, what's so special about this view, anyway?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, if ye wait long enough, the sun will pass over the mountains, and when it does, a shaft of sunlight hits the waterfall, and turns the color of it gold." Merida explained.

"In order for me to see this, I'll have to be standing at the top of the mountain, and not on a dragon's back, but who's gonna catch me if happen to I fall?" Hiccup asked.

"Yer dragon, of course, since he'll probably keep his eyes on ye for the whole time, so if ye do fall, then ye can just use his back as. . ." Merida trailed off after saying that.

"My emergency landing protection?" Hiccup guessed, and right when those words had left his mouth, Hiccup hoped that Merida didn't mind with him finishing her sentence.

"Yeah, something like that." Merida answered, before walking over to her horse once again, but she turned to face Hiccup. "So are we goin' to do this race now or what?"

It was clear to Hiccup that if he flew with Toothless to the top of the Crone's Tooth, then it would be considered as cheating to Merida, and she's sure to get very unhappy. She might probably get so upset to the point of demanding both of them to leave this land, since Hiccup did say to Merida already that he and his dragon came from Berk. Hiccup didn't want any of that to happen, and the reason being was that he really enjoyed Merida's company, and he still wanted to keep hanging out with her until he left.

"Yes, Merida, we're doing the race, and if it makes you happy, I will go through with climbing the Crone's Tooth all by myself, and without Toothless' help." Hiccup announced.

"That's good to hear," Merida said, just before she got herself onto Angus' back. "I'll be a lot more happy when we're racin' with our friends through the forest." She added.

Right after Merida said that, Hiccup made sure to have his riding vest on first, then he jumped onto the dragon's back, and secured himself properly to his friend's harness.

"Oh, Merida, before we start, shouldn't there be some kind of prize for whoever wins, but there isn't really anything that I can think of that will be good." Hiccup mentioned.

The princess had begun to think of any kind of award that could satisfy either of them, because Merida did believe that a race was pointless if there wasn't a prize in the end. As soon as Hiccup and Merida reached the top of the Crone's Tooth, they could each just take a drink from the Fire Falls, but it didn't seem like such a great reward for winning a race through the forest and climbing up a mountain made of rocks. Just when Merida was about to give up, an idea had suddenly come to her mind, and she hoped that Hiccup wouldn't think that the idea was too risky and ridiculous, but she'd never know what he thought unless she told him what her idea was first.

"How about this, Hiccup, if I'm the winner, then ye have to teach me how to ride yer dragon, but if ye win, I'll teach ye how to ride Angus, so what do ye think about that idea?" Merida asked, while becoming more anxious to hear Hiccup's response.

"I think it's a great idea, and luckily, Toothless doesn't mind with having someone else on his back, unless they're a friend of mine." Hiccup answered.

Merida slightly grinned from not just knowing that she was Hiccup's friend, but also from the thought of getting to ride a dragon for the first time.

"So, are we going to start this race now, or will we just stay here talking?" Hiccup asked, and the grin on Merida's face had instantly vanished.

"Oh, we're doin' the race, dragon boy, and one more rule before we go, ye have to fly though the forest, not above it." Merida instructed.

Hiccup had a feeling that Merida would come up with that kind of rule, considering it's often hard for him and Toothless to get through the forest in Berk, since they had to be careful not to crash into any trees, or even any branches for that matter.

"Alright, we can do that, and it shouldn't be a problem because we've done it many times, so on the count of three." Hiccup said.

Merida and Hiccup made sure to have their animal friends on all four legs and at each other's side, before they started the countdown.

"Three. . .two. . .one. . ." Both of them said, and just as the two of them, or in this case, only Hiccup was about to call out 'go', he saw Merida already take off into the woods with her horse, and that's when he took off himself to catch up with her.

"Hey, we were supposed to say 'go' together, but seriously, you couldn't wait for that?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"When it comes to winnin' a race', then I don't really have too much patience." Merida admitted.

"Sorry to disappoint you, princess, but we're not going to let that happen for you." Hiccup responded.

Right after saying that, Hiccup and Toothless shot past Merida and Angus like a speeding bullet, leaving the princess and her horse far behind, as the Viking and his dragon managed to avoid hitting a tree by doing plenty of left and right turns. Even thought the Night Fury and his rider didn't mind flying through the forest, they usually preferred to be up in the sky. There were no obstacles they had to worry about, and the clouds didn't count because they could just go right through them. It wasn't long before the duo was finally out of the forest and they saw a beautiful waterfall which wasn't so far off in the distance. When they flew closer to it, Hiccup noticed a tall mountain made up of rocks, just like the one that Merida described to him earlier.

"So this is the Crone's Tooth," Hiccup said, as he hopped off Toothless and then walked over to get a better look for himself.

Why did it have to be a mountain made of rocks, and not one which was connected to the land like every other mountain? Hiccup almost felt like banging his head against the mountain, but he knew it would've given him a headache or a concussion. Despite how fast he and Toothless were to get here, Merida was sure to make it to the same destination in the next few minutes.

If Merida noticed Hiccup still at the bottom of the mountain, then she would probably think that he was too scared to even climb it. Hiccup didn't want the girl to think that he was a coward, especially since he had probably impressed her with Toothless' speed. Still, it was his dragon who got them out of the forest, and Hiccup wanted Merida to see that he could do something without Toothless. With that decided, Hiccup turned around to face his best friend, so he could tell him why it was important for him to climb the mountain.

"Hey, bud, do you see this mountain behind us?" Hiccup asked, while pointing a thumb at the Crone's Tooth.

Toothless gave a nod, but not before moving his head to the right, and then back up to take a good look.

"Well, if I want to win this race, then I have to climb it, and I can't get any help from you." Hiccup explained.

To the boy's surprise, all that Toothless did was give another nod to Hiccup, showing that he understood.

"Okay, so please be prepared to catch me if you happen to see me fall from the mountain." Hiccup requested.

Suddenly, the dragon raised an eyebrow and his eyes widened from wondering if that was going to happen.

"Don't worry, bud, I'm not going to fall, but I've never really climbed a mountain like this before." Hiccup said.

After he saw Toothless change his expression into a positive one, Hiccup brought his attention back over to the mountain, and only a few seconds passed before he found notches for both his hands, along with his human foot and prosthetic leg, then he began to climb. To Hiccup's surprise, it didn't seem that hard for him to climb the Crone's Tooth, even with two legs that weren't the same. Whenever he saw a new notch, Hiccup wasted no time in going for it, and he got himself higher each time from finding one.

He always made sure to follow a certain rule, since breaking it could get him scared, and that was to not ever look down. Occasionally, Hiccup stumbled a bit, as pieces of rock fell beneath him and hit the ground below, but he never lost his grip. When Hiccup raised one of his hands to search for another notch, he paused to take a look at which spot his palm had touched.

A grin came across Hiccup's face to see that he actually made it to the top, and he climbed a little more to stand on the mountain. Hiccup could get a great view at both of the places that Merida mentioned to him earlier, and he cheered in triumphant joy. The Viking also remembered what Merida told him about the sun passing over the mountains, so he looked across the sky to find where the sun was, and when he saw it, he decided to wait until after the sun's rays had hit the waterfall to get himself back down to the ground.

How would Hiccup come down from the mountain, since Toothless was all the way at the bottom, so Hiccup couldn't be able to fly with him. Hiccup gave himself a mental facepalm when he realized that he wore an outfit that doubled as a squirrel jacket which was capable of flight. As much as Hiccup wanted to jump off and show off his flying skills to Merida, he preferred to hold back until she joined him on the Crone's Tooth.

He couldn't help but imagine the look on Merida's face when she saw him flying all on his own, and not with any help from Toothless at all. All of a sudden, the expression on Hiccup's face changed when he started to think about how Merida would manage to get herself down. Unlike Hiccup, she didn't happen to wear an outfit that could get her to fly off from the mountain, but that's when he realized something else.

Since he already reached the top of the Crone's Tooth, that meant he won the race, so there wasn't any point for Merida to climb the mountain. Although Hiccup felt a strong desire to look down and take a glimpse to see if Merida and Angus were by Toothless' side, he preferred not to do that, so the only thing Hiccup could do was wait for the sun to move across the mountain, and then he'll fly himself literally off of it.

For the time being, Hiccup didn't want to end up getting bored, so he decided to think about something that could keep his mind occupied. He recalled that his prize for winning would be Merida teaching him how to ride her horse, but Hiccup wasn't sure how he felt about that. When Hiccup first saw Angus yesterday, he assumed that another horse ate Merida's horse, and it was like seeing a mountain made of fur.

Even though Hiccup felt that he could possibly get his hips hurt while riding Angus, he didn't want to be rude and turn down Merida's lesson. For all he knew, it probably wouldn't be so bad for Hiccup, considering that Merida was sure to give instructions on how to ride her horse properly. Hiccup really did appreciate the lesson that she gave him on how to use a bow and arrow, since he could've begun to suffer from starvation.

The teenager was wondering how archery could be useful to Berk when he noticed the sun coming, so he brought his attention to the waterfall. He gasped in astonishment at the waterfall's extraordinary beauty as it turned into a golden color from the rays of the sun shining brightly on it. Merida was right, this had truly been a sight worth waiting for, and Hiccup walked a bit closer and cupped his hands to get a drink of fresh water. Not only did Hiccup do that, but he also splashed some of the water in his face to make sure that he wasn't just dreaming or imagining things.

"Hey, Hiccup, are ye up there?" Someone shouted, and Hiccup obviously knew who that voice belonged to, because it was clearly impossible for either Toothless or Angus to gain the ability to talk like Hiccup and the Scottish princess who was at the bottom of the mountain.

"Yes, Merida, I'm on top of this mountain and I got myself up here by climbing, so that means I won the race, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Do ye even have to ask me that, so anyway, did ye watch the waterfall become gold like I told ye that it would?" Merida inquired.

"I did, and I have to admit that it looked amazing, so I guess that it's time for me to come down and meet you?" Hiccup assumed.

"If you want to be taught on how to ride Angus, then you'll need to be sittin' on him first before I start your lesson." Merida said.

She didn't hear a response from Hiccup, so that caused Merida to believe that he was preparing to climb down the Crone's Tooth. A smirk had appeared on Merida's face from thinking of how Hiccup could accomplish that without having any help from his dragon. Immediately, the smirk was gone and it had been replaced with a jaw drop as Merida saw Hiccup actually jump off the mountain.

Merida instantly began to feel both fear and panic inside that Hiccup was going to fall to his death, but then, something happened. The princess blinked her eyes for a few times to see if she was just imagining things, but it truly looked like Hiccup was flying. How was it even possible for Hiccup to achieve something like this while having no assistance whatsoever from his Night Fury?

If Hiccup managed to make it back to the ground in one piece, then Merida would make sure to ask him how he could fly like that. Merida, along with Angus and Toothless tried to keep their eyes on Hiccup as he flew around in the sky. Only a few seconds short of a minute went by before Hiccup safely landed on the ground in front of them.

Hiccup had a grin on his face from being up in the air, then it changed when he saw Merida's expression. The teen opened his mouth to ask Merida if she was okay, but stopped himself when she came closer to him. Merida clenched a fist to punch Hiccup on the shoulder, but he didn't really feel the pain because of his armor.

"Why didn't ye tell me before the race that ye were wearin' an outfit that could help ye fly?" Merida asked.

"You never did ask about my outfit, and besides, it wouldn't have been a surprise if I told you." Hiccup replied.

"Well, you should've told me, and then I wouldn't have thought that you were gettin' yourself killed." Merida said.

"Okay, I'm sorry for scaring you, so anyway, I think it's time to have my reward for winning the race." Hiccup reminded.

"Sure, but before we do that, could ye tell me how yer outfit works, because I'd really like to know." Merida responded.

Hiccup wasn't sure why Merida wanted to know how his wingsuit worked, but he didn't see any problem with telling her.

"I just activate it by snapping these hoops on each side of my feet down there." Hiccup explained, while showing the hoops.

"When they're pulled up, my 'wings' are pulled out of the areas they're in and they line up against my sides up to my arms. To keep myself in the sky, I have both of the hoops in my hands, and it stays that way until I want to get back on the ground. I use the air as an advantage, since it goes over and underneath my 'wings', and it's like turning gravity against itself. Finally, I press a switch on my armor to activate a fin on my back which is used to keep myself balanced when I'm gliding."

Hiccup didn't have a clue of what Merida was feeling, but when she started to smile, he thought it meant she was impressed.

"Ye know, if we ever have a new race, maybe it should be just ye and yer 'wings' against me and Angus." Merida suggested.

"Perhaps we can do that another time, but for now, you can teach me how to be able to ride your horse." Hiccup replied.

Merida showed that she agreed with Hiccup by nodding her head, then led him to stand on the left side of her Clydesdale.

"If you want to ride a horse, the first thing you must do is mount it, and I'm sure you know what that means." Merida said.

"It means I get myself on top of him." Hiccup answered, before turning around to climb on Angus, but saw there was a problem.

"Hey, Merida, would you mind telling your horse to lie down for a moment so I can mount him?" Hiccup asked.

Instead of saying a word, all that Merida did was pat Angus twice on his left side, but not before rolling her eyes. The princess' loyal companion lay himself down on the grass, and Hiccup took that chance to stand over Angus' saddle. However, when the horse didn't get up on his hooves, Hiccup believed it was Merida who had to give that command. A look of confusion came on Hiccup's face as he turned his head to the left and right, but he didn't see Merida anywhere. Just when Hiccup was about to call out her name, he felt something, or rather someone give him a push from behind.

"Don't worry, Hic, I'm right behind ye, and if yer goin' to ride Angus, I'll need to be with ye the whole time." Merida said.

Although he felt a little uneasy with how close Merida was, Hiccup knew the lesson couldn't be done without her instructions.

"Okay, I understand, your horse, your rules, so what's the next thing that I have to do now?" Hiccup asked.

"You grab on the reins, which is this," Merida answered, as she used a hand to point at a long narrow strap.

Hiccup quickly seized the reins with both of his hands, and did nothing else except wait for Merida's next order.

"Since there's no stirrup, to make him move forward, ye'll have to pull the reins back, but not too hard."

Right after Hiccup had done that, Angus got back to standing on the ground, then he started to walk.

"When yer ridin', it's important to always look ahead and keep your back straight." Merida instructed.

She put a hold on giving directions until Hiccup changed his body posture to how it should be for her lesson.

"If ye want the horse to turn, pull the reins out to either the left or right side, but whichever side is up to ye."

Hiccup wasn't sure of which way he should go at this point, which is why he didn't turn in any direction. Even though Hiccup's been in this forest for almost two days, it still felt completely new and different to him. He was glad to know that he had someone with him who actually knew their way in and out of this land.

It would only be a few more days before Hiccup would leave after deciding if he was ready to marry Astrid. Thinking of Astrid caused Hiccup to realize that he should be putting a lot more time with that big decision. Unfortunately, he couldn't have a chance to think about it much longer when he heard a voice call out his name.

"Hiccup, look out!" Merida shouted, and it was those words that successfully brought Hiccup back to reality.

He saw that Angus was leading them straight toward a tree, so Hiccup quickly pulled the reins back and hard.

This caused the horse to let out a loud neigh before he began to go full speed through the mossy forest.

With all of his four legs, Toothless ran as fast as he could to try and catch up with the princess' Clydesdale.

Despite the fast speed he was going at right now, Angus was still able to avoid crashing into any trees.

"Hey, Merida, please tell me how do I stop your horse, because he's going a little too fast!" Hiccup asked.

"Just yell out 'whoa', and Angus will stop for ye." Merida answered, while she kept her arms around Hiccup's waist.

"Whoa!" Hiccup called out, and right when that word left the boy's mouth, the horse came to a immediate halt.

Toothless had finally caught up with Angus and he looked on as both Merida and Hiccup took a few deep breaths. Eventually, he got himself off the horse carefully on the left side, while she jumped off quickly on the right side. When Hiccup and Merida walked around Angus to face each other, they stood staring at one another with a blank expression on their face for a short moment before they burst out laughing, and this caused both of their best friends to have a look of confusion. Neither Angus nor Toothless had any idea of what their human friends could possibly be laughing about. However, they were sure that they'll find out anyway when Merida and Hiccup began to speak again.

"Wow, I sounded so ridiculous, didn't I?" Hiccup asked, even though he only said one horse command.

"No, Hiccup, ye weren't that awful, so do ye want to get back to the lesson or not?" Merida suggested.

"Oh, I do, Merida, but can we have a break first, just so I can regain some energy for it?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure, how about we take a walk, since Angus could use a bit of rest for his hooves?" Merida requested.

"Okay, and it would be good if Toothless got some rest too, especially after chasing us through the forest." Hiccup mentioned.

Merida nodded her head in agreement before they began to walk through the forest with animal friends by their side. Just a minute passed by until Hiccup felt like striking up a conversation with Merida, but wasn't sure of what to talk about. Hiccup already had told her how to gain Toothless' trust, and about his arranged marriage, but that was pretty much it.

As for Merida, she told him a legend about a prince who ruined his own kingdom by pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes, and another true story of how she changed her mother into a bear with a spell and her journey to transform her back into a human. Both of those tales were quite compelling to listen to, then all of a sudden, Hiccup realized something in his head. Hiccup didn't yet tell Merida of how he and Toothless became friends, so he thought this was the right time for that.

"So. . .Merida," Hiccup said, and so he waited on saying more until Merida had turned her head to look back at him.

"Yes, Hiccup, what is it?" Merida asked, as she started to wonder in her head of what Hiccup was going to say to her.

"How would you like to finally hear the story of how I began a friendship with the legendary Night Fury?" Hiccup offered.

"I'd love to, Hiccup, but perhaps ye could save that story for tonight and tell it before we go to sleep?" Merida requested.

"Alright, Merida, but I just thought we could pass the time by doing something fun until our break is over." Hiccup replied.

"I guess ye're thinkin' that a walk through the woods and doing nothin' else isn't so much fun." Merida assumed.

"You should know that I've taken a walk into a forest and out many times before, so I can't say it's not fun." Hiccup said.

"Hiccup, have ye done anything fun when ye're in the woods, such as climb a tree or draw an animal?" Merida asked.

"When I was a kid, I used to climb trees, and I was good at it too, and I often did a lot of play-time with troll scouting missions, scribbling maps and marking "troll sightings", which is why my tunics were always full of holes and and tears and so I had to learn to sew at a young age." Hiccup revealed.

Merida actually felt touched that Hiccup shared a memory from his childhood, so she thought it was fair for her to do the same.

"Ye know, Hiccup, I used to play with a wooden horse toy when I was younger, but of course, I grew out of that." Merida responded.

"I had a toy myself, and it was a stuffed dragon made by my mom when I was a baby, but the toy scared me half to death and I didn't sleep for a week, then one day, while I was out fishing with my father, I took the toy and threw it into the ocean, but I did get it back." Hiccup explained.

"How?" Merida inquired, as she became very curious to know how could Hiccup get the toy back if it was in the ocean.

"It recently turned up in a fishing net, and a seafaring trader named Johann received it in a trade and had contacted my father." Hiccup replied.

Neither Merida nor Hiccup had noticed they both stopped walking to talk to each other, but Angus and Toothless stayed with them.

"So what about yer mother, was she happy that yer toy came back, or was she still upset ye threw it away?" Merida asked.

Only a few seconds went by before Merida could tell something was wrong when Hiccup didn't answer her question right away. Merida wasn't sure of whether to ask Hiccup if something happened to his mother or if she should just change the subject. Either way, she wanted to know, but Merida wouldn't get to find out unless Hiccup actually felt like telling her about his mother.

"Listen, Hiccup, if ye don't want to talk about this, then I'm okay with that. . ." Merida said, while trying to be respectful.

Hiccup brought his head up and turned to face the girl before giving his answer. "No, Merida, I do want to talk about it."

Right after saying that, Hiccup sat down on the ground, and Merida did the same thing, along with Toothless and Angus.

"She died when I was just a baby, and I don't remember that much about her because I was so young, but what I do remember is that she was beautiful, she had green eyes like mine, and a voice that always made me feel warm inside, and she used to sing lullabies to me." Hiccup revealed.

"My mum and I would sing a lullaby when I was a child, and to this day, I still remember every word of it." Merida said.

"I happen to remember the lullaby that my mother sang to me, and why don't you go first with yours?" Hiccup suggested.

Merida laughed for a moment until she looked at Hiccup, and that's when she stopped as Merida realized he was serious.

"Wait, Hiccup, so what ye mean by that is for me to actually sing the lullaby right here in the forest?" Merida inquired.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to laugh, and neither will Toothless," Hiccup replied, before turning to face his best friend.

"Right, buddy?" Hiccup asked, and the Night Fury gave a nod before he joined his human with sitting down on the grass.

"Okay, then how about after I sing my lullaby, ye have to sing yers next, so does that sound fair?" Merida requested.

"Yeah, that sounds fair to me," Hiccup replied, then he watched as both the princess and her horse sat on the ground.

Merida closed her eyes and took a single deep breath before opening her eyes again as she began to sing the lullaby.

Little baby, hear my voice

I'm beside you, O maiden fair

Our young Lady, grow and see

Your land, your own faithful land

Sun and moon, guide us

To the hour of our glory and honor

Little baby, our young Lady

Noble maiden fair

"Wow, Merida, you have a beautiful voice, and that was really a great lullaby." Hiccup said, with a smile on his face.

Merida looked away and tried her best not to blush after hearing Hiccup say that, since she didn't want to embarrass herself.

"Thank ye, Hiccup," Merida replied, as she moved her head to face him. "So, anyway, it's now yer turn for the lullaby."

Hiccup used a few fingers to massage his neck, and just like Merida, he closed his eyes, but kept them closed as he sang.

Hush little Hiccup, don't shed a tear

Mommy will kiss away your fear

Dragons roar and warriors shout

But I will keep the danger out

Someday, child, you'll end this war

And we will have to fight no more

When you grow into a man

There will be peace on this land

Merida's eyes were wide and her mouth was agape from Hiccup's singing, but she changed her expression when he opened his eyes.

"That was very nice, Hiccup, so was that the first time ye sang a lullaby, or did ye and yer mum sing it together?" Merida asked.

"This was my first time, and it was usually just her, she would always sing it to me when there was a thunderstorm." Hiccup answered.

"I was always afraid of thunderstorms when I was a kid, but they don't scare me as much as they used to back then." Merida replied.

"Let me guess, if you got so scared, then you would sleep with your parents until morning, or until the storm stopped." Hiccup assumed.

"Yes, and the storm wouldn't be over until the next day, but what about ye, did ye sleep with yer parents through a storm?" Merida inquired.

"I'd always be in the middle of the bed, and since I was pretty small as a child, it wasn't so hard to fit between them." Hiccup responded.

"Well, Hiccup, this conversation was great, but maybe we should get back to the lesson now?" Merida suggested.

Hiccup gave a nod of his head before he and Merida, along with their animal best friends, all got up on their feet. Merida patted Angus' neck so he would get down on the grass for her and Hiccup to be able to sit on top of him. She wanted to ask Hiccup a question, but decided to wait until her horse was standing on each of his four hooves.

"Hiccup, do ye still remember all the instructions that I've taught ye so far, or do I need to say them again?" Merida asked.

"No, that's okay, I think I've got it," Hiccup replied, as he pulled the reins back, which caused Angus to start moving forward.

Hiccup took a quick glance to the left and right to see where Toothless was before he brought eyes in front. Since he didn't want things to happen like last time, Hiccup decided to let the horse keep going at a slow pace. Although he had a feeling that Merida wouldn't approve of this speed, he still wanted to be very careful this time.

"Hey, Hiccup, could I ask ye somethin'?" Merida asked, and she seemed to have a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Although I probably know what it is exactly you're going to ask me about, please go ahead." Hiccup responded.

"Are ye sure that ye're not ridin' to a funeral, because with Angus goin' at this speed, it seems like it." Merida said.

"I'm sorry, Merida, but I just don't want to risk getting you, me, or even Angus hurt during this lesson." Hiccup replied.

"It's nice to know ye care about the safety of others, Hiccup, but it wouldn't be so bad to go a little faster." Merida suggested.

Right when Hiccup was about to argue with Merida, he remembered that Angus wasn't just any horse, he was Merida's friend. For all he knew, the horse had probably been her friend ever since she was a child, so that meant Merida and Angus' friendship was much longer than Hiccup's friendship with Toothless, which had only been a few years old now, so it did seem fair to have Angus to pick up the pace.

"You're right, Merida, this lesson is supposed to be fun, but it can't be that way if the Angus goes too slow." Hiccup agreed.

With that being said, Hiccup pulled the reins back a little, and this time, he made sure not to be too hard and rough with them. The horse's speed quickly changed to a fast pace, but it wasn't the kind of breakneck speed that Toothless did with Hiccup.

"Now this is much better," Merida said in relief, as she hung on tightly by wrapping both of her hands around Hiccup's waist.

Hiccup felt glad to hear that from Merida, and so he knew that she would stay satisfied if her friend kept going at this speed. For a short moment, Hiccup wasn't sure if whether or not he should strike up another conversation with Merida or just keep quiet. He decided that it would be better to pass the time by talking, since it would be too awkward to spend the rest of the ride in silence.

"Merida, what do you say when this ride is over, I tell you all about how about Toothless and I became best friends?" Hiccup suggested.

"I'd like that, Hiccup, but ye don't mind if we stay ridin' for a few more minutes, and then you can go back to Toothless?" Merida asked.

"Yeah, and perhaps for those few minutes, Angus could go a little faster?" Hiccup requested, while believing Merida would approve.

"In case you've forgotten, Hiccup, I seem to remember that the last time Angus was goin' very fast, you were freakin' out." Merida replied.

"Excuse me, but I wasn't freaking out, I just hadn't been prepared properly for that kind of speed from your horse." Hiccup claimed.

"Okay," Merida responded, while not believing a word that Hiccup just said to her. "Are ye sure that ye can handle the speed this time?"

"Yeah, I can handle it." Hiccup assured, and before Merida could even reply back, he already had pulled back the reins in a rough fashion.

This caused Angus to run at the same speed that he had done earlier, and Toothless rolled his eyes before running to catch up with him. Instead of panicking and turning his head around to see if Toothless was nearby, Hiccup kept looking straight ahead. Since he expected the horse to go this fast, Hiccup knew there wasn't any reason for him to be feeling uneasy or worried. Hiccup brought his head down and made a quick glance to see if Merida still had her arms around his waist, which she did.

"So, Merida, are you enjoying this?" Hiccup made sure not to be too loud when asking that, since Merida was behind him.

"Of course I am, Hiccup, because I usually like it when Angus goes galloping very time, but what about you?" Merida asked.

"I'm great, and if it's okay with Toothless, maybe I could teach you how to ride him, so you can know what flying feels like?" Hiccup suggested.

Just after Hiccup said that, Merida started to imagine what it's like for him and Toothless to be in the sky and above the clouds. For all she knew, Hiccup and Toothless must have spent about a million times flying together, so they had to be experts by now. Merida didn't have to worry about anything, because Hiccup would be with her, just like she was with teaching him how to ride Angus. When she was younger, Merida used to dream about what it might be like to fly, but she didn't think it would ever really happen for her, and now she finally had the chance, so in a way, Hiccup was making her dreams come true, but it's not like Merida would ever tell that to Hiccup out loud.

"Hey, Merida, are you okay?" Hiccup asked, and it was that question which caused the girl's train of thought to come to an abrupt stop.

Merida was sure that Hiccup probably thought she ignored him on purpose, but she didn't mean to, and wanted Hiccup to know that.

"Yes, Hiccup, I'm fine, and I wasn't tryin' to ignore ye or anything, I was just thinkin' about something." Merida answered.

"Do you want to talk about it, Merida, or is whatever you thought about really none of my business?" Hiccup inquired.

"It's not that it's none of yer business, Hiccup, it just isn't so important to talk about, especially right now." Merida replied.

"Alright, so you weren't thinking about me or Toothless or both of us, and that's only what I want to know." Hiccup said.

"No, Hiccup, neither ye nor Toothless were on my mind, the only person I was thinkin' about was only me." Merida responded.

"Just a reminder, I suggested If I should give you a lesson to fly Toothless, so what's your answer for that? Hiccup asked.

"My answer is yes, and I'd be more than happy to let you teach me how to fly your dragon all on my own." Merida replied.

"We'll have the lesson on the ground instead of the sky so you and Toothless won't risk falling and getting hurt." Hiccup advised.

Merida believed that was a great idea, since she wanted to have all limbs intact when she got to ride Angus by herself again. She also thought that since a few minutes had gone by with Angus going really fast, it was time for the ride to come to an end.

"To be honest with you, Hiccup, I think we should take a break from ridin' through the forest, and I'm sure Angus agrees with me." Merida said.

"Yeah, and it would be good to give Toothless some rest, especially after all that running he's doing to catch up with us." Hiccup replied.

"Now, what was that word I had to say to stop Angus. . ." Hiccup said, while thinking for a moment. "Oh, that's right, whoa!" He shouted.

When her horse stopped, Merida never expected that Hiccup's entire body would be flying in midair, but that's exactly what happened. She assumed at first that Hiccup was using his wingsuit, but Merida didn't see either of his 'wings', and her expression changed instantly. Before the princess could get any words out, Hiccup's head made contact with a tree, and his body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hiccup!" Merida yelled in shock and horror, as she quickly got off Angus and ran over to the boy's motionless figure on the grass.

It wasn't that long before Toothless had joined her, and he let out a roar, hoping it would wake up his friend, but it didn't work. Toothless tried a few more times, and Merida covered her ears while Toothless kept attempting to get Hiccup to become conscious.

This situation was all too familiar with Toothless, who remembered having to wait practically for weeks for his human to come out of his coma after their battle with the Red Death five years ago, and he didn't want the same thing to be happening all over again. Just as the Night Fury was about to make another roar, he stopped when Merida held up a hand, since she wanted to say something.

"I don't think that yer roars are working, Toothless, but it was good to at least try, so do ye wanna hear my plan?" Merida asked.

Toothless quickly nodded his head, as he was up for just about anything that could be done to get Hiccup to open his eyes.

"We need to take Hiccup back to my home, because I'm sure there's someone who can check him out." Merida suggested.

Merida saw Toothless give another nod, and with his help, she carried Hiccup onto Angus' back before getting on top of him too. For the third time today, the black scaled dragon ran to keep up with Merida and her horse, but this time, Toothless didn't mind. Hiccup hadn't been unconscious for the first two times, so that's why Toothless had no problem with running through the forest again.

Luckily for the dragon, Angus wasn't going at the same top speed that he did when Hiccup had been riding him not so long ago. Toothless always knew that Hiccup acted reckless sometimes, so he should've at least expected something like this to happen. If Hiccup was going to ride him or Angus again, then Toothless would make sure that Hiccup wore his helmet for the whole time.

All of a sudden, Merida and Angus stopped right where they are, and that's when Toothless assumed that something was wrong. He moved around to see that both the princess and her horse were looking at a castle in the far off distance. Just when Toothless was about to walk ahead of them, the girl and her Clydesdale friend came in front of him.

"It's probably best if you stay here, because my parents might try to have ye killed if they saw ye." Merida suggested.

Obviously, Toothless didn't want to sit around in the forest and not be at Hiccup's side at all when he recovered from his head injury, but if Merida's family believed that dragons were dangerous, then it was fair to avoid giving her family any kind of trouble. Toothless was sure that the last thing Hiccup would want is for his best friend to get injured or worse and not be around to protect him.

If Merida had been the one who was hurt, then Hiccup might probably suggest to Toothless that he wait in the forest until he's returned. To show Merida he understood what she told him, Toothless breathed fire in a circle on the ground before laying down on the warm soil. Although she was glad that Toothless would stay in the woods, Merida felt bad that he couldn't go along with her and Angus to the castle.

"Toothless, I promise that Hiccup's goin to be fine, and he'll be ready to go on a fight with ye when he comes back, okay?" Merida asked.

A long pause had come between them before Toothless nodded his head, and he stayed put as he watched Merida ride off to her home. To keep himself occupied, Toothless recalled the most recent time that he was up in the sky with Hiccup, which had just been yesterday. Unfortunately, the memory became bittersweet, since Toothless hoped it wouldn't be the last time of him and his best friend flying together.


	7. Meet the Parents (and Triplets)

Hiccup's head hurt. It was the first thing that he was fully aware of – a deep, thrumming ache that began just above his ear and then seemed to reverberate around his head, creating an endless, nauseating cycle of pain, which caused him to groan in agony. The next thing that Hiccup was aware of was that he was lying on something soft – something that felt suspiciously like a bed. Which was strange, because the last thing Hiccup clearly remembered was him riding a large, tall and furry animal through the forest.

Cautiously, Hiccup opened his eyes – squinting briefly against the stab of pain running through his tender head, then opening them wider, to see that he was lying on a four poster bed, and his eyes blinked for a few times to adjust to the bright light shining through the room's only window. Although the Viking wasn't sure if it had been the early morning of a new day, Hiccup believed he would know for certain by the time that he went outside, and in a slow effort, Hiccup tried to move – he started by curling his fingers, and then lifting his hands up.

Every bone in his body seemed to be working just fine, but Hiccup was confused, and the slightest movement made his head throb anew. He reached up – carefully – and put a hand to the worst of the ache: bandaging. Yes, he definitely had hurt himself. His clothes made unusual crackling noises; they were stiff and heavy, and Hiccup realized that he still had on his flight suit, as he usually did when flying with Toothless, and that's when he began to wonder where his best friend could be if he wasn't in the room.

Hiccup tried to raise his head – he couldn't; it hurt too much, felt too heavy. He contented herself with turning it instead, but slowly, stubbornly determined. Toothless wasn't on either side of the bed, which caused Hiccup to quickly go from feeling worry to panic. If Toothless knew that the boy was injured, then the dragon wouldn't have ever kept his distance from him, Toothless would stay right by Hiccup's side until he was feeling better, so it felt uncomfortably strange for the dragon to not be here and joyfully greet Hiccup.

Maybe if Hiccup called out for Toothless, he would have his best friend coming to this room in no time, but Hiccup remembered that he wasn't in Berk anymore, so he didn't want to risk having Toothless be found by people who still considered dragons to be dangerous. All of a sudden, Hiccup recalled many things in his mind; it was a horse that he had been riding in the woods, and the horse belonged to a redhead who told him that she was a princess, and she lived in a castle with her parents and brothers, but he couldn't quite remember all their names.

Hiccup would make sure to thank them for having someone take care of his wound. He would be very grateful if they were okay with letting him stay here until his head got better. Hiccup figured the only thing he could do now was wait for someone to come in and check on him. It seemed like someone had apparently read his mind when Hiccup heard a door being opened, then he saw a redhead let herself inside and close the door behind her, and Hiccup kept his eyes on the girl as she grabbed a chair and brought it to the right side of the bed.

"Good, ye're awake, so I know this probably is a dumb question to ask right now, but how are ye feelin'?" Merida asked.

"Despite the fact I have a big headache and Toothless is not here with me, I'm just great!" Hiccup replied sarcastically.

"I couldn't bring yer dragon in the castle, Hiccup, because I was afraid that if I did, he might be killed." Merida explained.

Although he felt relieved to know his friend was alive, Hiccup still wanted to know where Toothless was at the moment.

"Okay, so where is Toothless now, and just so you can help my memory a little, what's your name again?" Hiccup inquired.

A slight frown was made on Merida's face, that hit to the head must've hurt badly if Hiccup couldn't remember her name.

"My name is Merida, and yer dragon's in the forest, and I told him to stay there until you come back." Merida answered.

"Toothless isn't exactly a fan of waiting, so that's why I should go out now and he'll know that I'm fine." Hiccup suggested.

"Ye can't, Hiccup, at least not yet, because yer head still needs more rest, so could ye stay here a little longer?" Merida requested.

Hiccup was about to argue with Merida when he took a moment to think about what the princess and her family had to offer. He made it clear in the letter he left for his father that he would be away from Berk for just one week, but Hiccup never did expect to spend any of that time with a Scottish royal family, and so he didn't want to take advantage of them or give them any sort of trouble if he stayed here. Merida's family did save his life, and she was insisting, so the least that he could do to show his gratitude was accept their hospitality.

"Alright, Merida, I'll stay, and thanks a lot for bringing me here, but is it okay if I meet your parents so I can thank them too?" Hiccup asked.

Although Merida was relieved to know Hiccup would stay, she also felt a little nervous that he wanted to meet both of her parents so soon. She assumed that Hiccup was going to remain in bed for a few more hours, but now, it didn't seem necessary since he was already awake.

"Sure, Hiccup, but ye should let me at least help ye out of the bed." Merida responded, as she held out a hand for Hiccup to take, which he did.

With Merida's help, Hiccup got off of the bed carefully, and he let Merida lead the way as they walked out of the room and through the hallway.

"So, Merida, what are your parents' names?" Hiccup asked. "It would be very awkward if I met both of them without knowing their names first."

"My Mum's name is Elinor, and my Dad's name is Fergus, but since they're the King and Queen, you can only use 'Your Majesty'." Merida clarified.

"Don't you also have brothers too, and if so, how many do you have exactly, like five or seven?" Hiccup inquired, taking a few wild guesses.

"Whoa, Hiccup, not that many! I just have three, and they're triplets, and their names are Hamish, Hubert, and Harris." Merida explained.

"You didn't tell them about Toothless when you brought me here, right?" Hiccup asked, and he sighed in relief when Merida shook her head.

"Thanks, and I'm probably annoying you by asking you so many questions, so I'm sorry, and if you want, I can stop right now." Hiccup said.

"No, Hiccup, please keep talking, and I'd rather give answers for yer questions instead of have awkward silence between us." Merida replied.

"Okay," Hiccup murmured, then he thought to come up with a new question. "So, what's your family like, and do you think they'll like me?"

"My dad can be tough and serious, but he's also kind and funny, while my mum is a very caring, thoughtful, and compassionate woman, so I'll sure that ye'll get along just fine with them, and as for my brothers, they may look sweet and adorable, but they're also clever and mischievous trouble-makers." Merida explained.

"Let me guess, they have so much fun playing tricks and pulling pranks, so what exactly have your brothers done in the past?" Hiccup asked.

"They love to steal muffins and biscuits from Maudie, one of the castle's servants, and I remember sneakin' a large plate of them under the dinner table so the boys could eat as much as they wanted to, and the boys also took a chance with tyin' our dad's peg leg to one of the table's post." Merida answered.

Hearing this caused Hiccup to laugh for a moment, and Merida didn't mind joining in with him, since she always found her brothers' pranks to be funny. Suddenly, Hiccup stopped laughing and his eyes widened at the same time, then he turned to Merida with an expression of concern on his freckled face.

"Hey, Merida, do you think that since I'm a guest here, and your brothers haven't met me yet, they'll try to make me their new target?" Hiccup asked.

"Probably, but ye have a head injury, so I don't think that they'll go too hard on ye, but I can tell them not to pull any pranks on ye." Merida offered.

"Could you do that, Merida, because I'm not sure I can handle any tricks, pranks, or games that will cause my head to hurt worse." Hiccup responded.

"Don't worry, Hiccup, I'll just tell the boys to keep makin' our dad, as well as most of the servants as their victims while ye're here." Merida assured.

"Thanks, Merida, I really appreciate it." Hiccup said genuinely, just they walked into the Great Hall, or it was otherwise known as the Throne room.

Before he walked any further, Hiccup faced Merida again, since he wanted to ask her one more question, even though it didn't seem that important.

"Merida?" Hiccup spoke softly, and he hoped that Merida heard him, despite how quiet he was, and he knew Merida did when she turned to face him.

"I know it's probably not even necessary for me to ask you this, but which room did I wake up in, like was it your parents' room?" Hiccup guessed.

"No, ye had been sleepin' in my bedchamber, and I insisted, because I didn't ye to be in a guest room that I couldn't find so easily." Merida replied.

"If I'm going to stay here for a while, then shouldn't I have a room of my own, and it wouldn't be fair for you to share your room with me." Hiccup said.

"My parents think yer head needs to heal more, so they told me that once ye were awake, I had to bring ye to them so that they could have a servant show ye to yer room." Merida explained.

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to go on a wide-open search through the castle when Merida spotted her parents sitting at the dinner table.

"Mum! Dad!" Merida called out, and upon hearing their daughter's voice, both the king and queen rose from their seat and embraced the girl warmly.

When the family was done with their hug, Hiccup took a short moment to see what Merida's parents looked like, and he started with her mother first. The queen was slender and beautiful with fair skin, long unbraided brown hair with a gray streak, and epicanthic brown eyes, while she wore a navy-blue dress with silver sequences and dark-blue shoes. As for the king, he was very tall and muscular with curly red hair, along with thick eyebrows, a mustache and beard of the same color and blue eyes, which that and the red hair were traits he shared with his daughter.

"Ah, yer awake, boy, so how's yer head feelin' now?" King Fergus asked, while trying not to be too loud and being curious to know Hiccup's condition.

"It hurts to raise it, but my head's good, Your Majesty," Hiccup said, remembering what Merida told him. "Thank you for having my head taken care of."

"There's no way that we would let the fate of a young man's heath hang in the balance, so we were more than happy to do that." Queen Elinor replied.

Hiccup was now amazed to know that even though Merida's parents didn't know much about him, they were willing to waste no time and save his life. He wanted to repay them somehow, but Hiccup remembered the only way for him to do that was to stay in their castle, at least for only a few more days.

"Thanks again, Your Majesty, and not for just my head, but for letting me stay here so my head can get more rest, it means a lot to me." Hiccup thanked.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Haddock, and I believe that this is yours?" Queen Elinor asked, as a servant came into the room while carrying Hiccup's basket.

Hiccup's eyes widened as soon as he saw his basket, and the boy ran over and he opened it up to see that everything he put inside of it was still there. The expression on Hiccup's face changed when he recalled that his basket had been attached to Toothless' saddle, so how was Merida able to get it off? It didn't really matter since Hiccup had his basket now, and because he was staying in Merida's home for a while, it was rather necessary for him to have it. Speaking of his things, Hiccup decided that he should change in a new set of clothes, but get out of his flight suit first, since he did have clothes underneath.

"Thank you again for bringing my stuff here." Hiccup said, while facing Merida and her parents. "Would it be alright if I had a bath before I go to my room?"

"Of course it's alright." Queen Elinor answered, then turned to face the servant. "Please take Mr. Haddock to the bathroom so he can get himself clean."

Hiccup slung the basket over his left shoulder before he came after the servant through the castle's hallways, but not without taking a look behind him. Neither Merida nor one of her parents were following them, but Hiccup believed they all felt it was important for him to be given privacy during his bath. When the servant stopped at a door in particular, Hiccup knew right off the bat it was the bathroom, and she opened it to let Hiccup go inside of it first.

"Mr. Haddock," The servant said, which caused Hiccup to turn around and face her. "Would you like for me to run the bath before you get in?" She asked.

"Yes, that would be great, thank you." Hiccup answered, then he stood aside for the servant to come in. "Could it be a mix of hot and cold water, please?"

"Of course." The servant replied, as she went over to the tub and used a hand to turn each of the knobs connected, and water began to fill the tub.

It wasn't until the tub was at least half full when the servant turned the knobs again to prevent the water from rising to the top and overflowing.

"Is this enough water for your bath, Mr. Haddock, or would you like the bathtub to have a little more water?" The servant asked, while facing Hiccup.

Hiccup took a glance to see how much water was in the tub, and he thought for a moment before deciding that having more water wouldn't hurt.

"I'd like a little more hot water, please." Hiccup responded, then he stood by and watched as the servant turned one of the knobs to add more water.

Half a minute passed before the servant turned the knob again to stop the water and walked to the bathroom's door. "Enjoy your bath, Mr. Haddock." After saying that, the servant closed the door which announced her departure from the room, and that's when Hiccup began to take off his flight suit. The room had begun to fill with steam from the heat of the water, and once he was completely undressed, Hiccup placed his clothes onto a nearby chair.

He slowly slipped his human foot into the water, letting his skin adjust to the heat, and he'd made sure to detach his prosthetic before fully ducking his whole body into the tub. Hiccup closed his eyes before he let out a sigh of pure comfort and pleasure as he now felt very relaxed and he rested his arms on each side of the tub. It wasn't long before Hiccup started to think about not just the many times he gave Toothless a bath, but also how the dragons on Berk loved getting dirty.

During the spring, they rolled around in great puddles of mud. In the summer, they loved diving into the disgusting waters of Berk, emerging with fish and scarfing them down whole, usually getting a smaller one stuck in their teeth that they forget about. Toothless had always given Hiccup a hard time when it came to having a bath, so that's why Hiccup preferred to wash him at the cove instead of a wooden tub. The dragon couldn't ever stay still through the whole thing, and he usually enjoyed licking Hiccup constantly and soaking the boy with water and soap suds.

Bathtime for Toothless frequently became more like games of tag, as the Night Fury would run away as fast as possible, and Hiccup ended up being breathless chasing after him. Nevertheless, thinking about all of this eventually caused Hiccup's mind to focus on how Toothless must be feeling right now, with having to stay in the forest, away from Hiccup against his own will so that he couldn't be hurt or possibly killed by Merida's family. Although it was rather kind of Merida to think about Toothless' heath and safety, Hiccup knew the dragon didn't like staying away from him for such a long time.

If Hiccup was really supposed to wait until tomorrow to be reunited with his best friend, then he would rather die than have to be separated from Toothless. That would be his plan, Hiccup would find Toothless, bring him back, and convince Merida's parents to let the dragon stay with him until his injury was all healed. Hiccup was about to get himself out of the tub when he decided it was important for him to be clean first before he actually went through with his risky plan.

He scrubbed at all the places of his body that needed to be scrubbed, while making sure that each place in particular was free of any dirt he got from outside. Hiccup put one hand on each side of the tub, but this time, it was just so he could be able to stand up straight, and then get himself out of the tub. After he was finally out, Hiccup found a towel nearby and used it to dry himself off for a moment before going into his basket to get a clean set of clothes to wear.

Now that Hiccup was fully dressed, he put his flight suit into the basket, since he thought it would be a while until he got a chance to fly with Toothless again. He was just about to leave the room when he remembered the tub still had water, so Hiccup rolled up a sleeve and put his bare arm inside to search for the plug. As soon as Hiccup touched the plug's chain with his hand, he pulled on it hard, and that caused the water to slowly drain from the tub until there was no more.

With his prosthetic now attached to his leg again, Hiccup slung the basket over his shoulder before walking out of the bathroom, and closing the door behind him. Hiccup recalled that the servant brought him here from the left side of the hallway, so that's where Hiccup went, while hoping that he wouldn't get lost in the castle. During his walk, Hiccup took the time to think of how he could get Merida's family to trust Toothless, and luckily, it didn't take him so long to come up with an idea.

He'll persuade both the King and Queen to place their hand at a spot on Toothless' nose and between his eyes, just like he got Merida to do with him yesterday. Hiccup recalled the King having a peg leg just like him, so Hiccup was hoping that would be a topic him and the King could form a bond over during his stay here. The Viking preferred not to think about the possibility of King Fergus drawing his sword as soon as he saw Toothless, and Hiccup decided to just remain positive.

Now that the Great Hall was coming into view, Hiccup started to feel a little nervous, but it wasn't like this had been the first time that he did something crazy. Hiccup could already notice that Merida and her parents were having a conversation, but it was over when they heard his prosthetic as he entered the room.

"Ah, Mr. Haddock, you've returned," Queen Elinor made sure to be facing Hiccup first before greeting him."So was your bath to your satisfaction?" She asked.

"Yes it was, Your Majesty," Hiccup answered, as he dropped his basket onto the floor."If you don't mind, there's something I would like to show all of you."

"Really, Mr. Haddock, because if it's something in your basket, we already know there's clothes, food, a water skin, and a notebook inside." Queen Elinor reminded.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, it's not exactly something I have with me right now," Hiccup replied, "It's more of a living animal that's outside the castle." He added.

Merida's eyes suddenly widened and her mouth dropped of where Hiccup was going with this, and she shook her head in believing this wouldn't go well at all.

"If it's a horse you're talking about, Mr. Haddock, then we can gladly bring him to the stables, that's where all the other horses are kept." Queen Elinor advised.

"It's not a horse, Your Majesty, or even a bear either," Hiccup said, as he took a deep breath before saying the next few words. "It's a dragon." He revealed.

For a moment, King Fergus and Queen Elinor stared at Hiccup before they burst into a fit of giggles, which caused Merida and Hiccup to face palm simultaneously. It became clear to Hiccup that neither of Merida's parents believed him, so obviously, he had to prove it by bringing Toothless here, but he needed Merida's help.

"I can prove it, Your Majesty, to both of you, but your daughter needs to come with me, because she actually knows where the dragon is right now." Hiccup said.

The King and Queen both turned their head to face Merida, who they expected to chortle from what Hiccup said, but were surprised to see the girl nod her head. Hiccup may have known that Toothless was in the forest, but it was Merida who knew the dragon's exact location, since Hiccup had been unconscious when she brought him to the castle.

"Mum, Dad, everything that Hiccup has told ye, it's the truth, I know where his dragon is, and ye have to promise not to have any weapons out when we bring his dragon in here." Merida requested.

Queen Elinor and King Fergus could easily tell from the tone of their daughter's voice that she was quite serious, and they didn't feel like stopping Merida from leaving the castle with Hiccup to find his dragon.

"Alright, lass, if ye say the boy's tellin' the truth, then we believe him too, and we promise to have no weapons around when ye return with his dragon." King Fergus promised, but not before nodding his head.

"We're not going anywhere, Merida, we'll stay right here and wait for you to come back." Queen Elinor said, then she and her husband looked on as their daughter and Hiccup walked out of the Great Hall.

Once they were out of her parents' sight, Merida was about to strike Hiccup on the head, but remembered his injury, so she punched him in the arm instead.

"Hey, what was that for?" Hiccup asked, as he quickly cradled his arm. "The last thing that I need right now is to have another part of my body badly hurt."

"What were ye thinkin', Hiccup," Merida asked, not bothering to stay quiet. "Ye really think my father won't have your dragon's head as a mounted trophy?"

"Your dad's not going to kill Toothless, not unless my dragon attacks him first, which he won't, because Toothless doesn't do that anymore." Hiccup replied.

"The reason my parents were laughin' is because they always believed that dragons didn't exist, since none of them go around this land." Merida explained.

"Well, they do exist, Merida, my home is an island that's full of dragons, so maybe you and your parents should come visit Berk sometime." Hiccup suggested.

"Maybe my parents should meet Toothless first and have actual proof that he's not dangerous before we decide to go visit your home." Merida responded.

"That's a good idea, and speaking of Toothless, since you know where he is, I think that you should lead the way so we can find him." Hiccup recommended.

Merida nodded her head as she walked to come in front of Hiccup, then led him all the way out of the castle, and through the forest to Toothless' whereabouts. All of a sudden, Hiccup dashed past Merida when he recognized a black mass in the distance, while the princess kept walking at a leisurely pace to reach them.

"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed happily, as he instantly hugged the dragon's muzzle and petted his snout, then the Night Fury gave his human a lick on his face.

Merida had to admit that the affection she saw Hiccup and Toothless give each other was cute, but it's not like she would ever say that out loud or in public.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, bud," Hiccup whispered softly that Merida couldn't hear his words. "I'm all right now, so you don't have to worry anymore."

Toothless didn't feel like not worrying about the boy because when the dragon moved away, he moaned at the sight of the bandaging around Hiccup's head.

"Really, bud, I'm fine," Hiccup reassured. "Merida's family took care of it, and they've even allowed for me to stay with them in their castle for a few days."

Hiccup felt delighted to see a gummy smile appear on Toothless' face from knowing they wouldn't have to keep living in the woods for the rest of the week.

"There's only one problem, Merida's parents don't think dragons exist, so we have to prove they do, and show them you're not dangerous." Hiccup suggested.

To the boy's relief, Toothless didn't disapprove of the idea by shaking his head, but he walked a few steps ahead of Hiccup in the direction of Merida's home. Seeing the dragon so confident to meet the King and Queen made Hiccup feel quite happy. It was like Toothless had no fear that something would go wrong. Hiccup didn't want to keep Merida's parents waiting any longer, so he caught up with the Night Fury and together with Merida, they walked back to the castle.

As they entered through the front gates, Merida tried her best to imagine that Toothless' meeting with her parents would turn out to go very well. No weapons being drawn, no blood being spilled, and everybody still having all their limbs intact long after the meeting was over and done with. She couldn't believe it, but it seemed like Merida's efforts to feel optimistic was actually working, and the princess didn't feel so anxious at the moment.

Since this was Hiccup's idea from the beginning and he had a lot more experience with dragons, Merida figured she would let him do most of the talking. Merida still wanted to help Hiccup, even though she wasn't sure how she could, but if Hiccup needed her assistance, then Merida wouldn't hesitate to give it. The entrance to the Great Hall was fast approaching and since he was positive this meeting would be successful, Hiccup didn't stop to take a deep breath.

If he proved to Merida's family that dragons weren't vicious beasts but kind and amazing creatures, they'd be more interested to visit Berk in the future. At last, Toothless came into the room with Hiccup on the dragon's left side, and Merida on his right, while her parents quickly noticed Toothless' presence. Both of them stayed quiet as King Fergus didn't run out of the Great Hall to get a weapon and Queen Elinor didn't call for a guard or take a few steps back.

They did have a wide-eyed expression on their face, most likely due to the fact they've truly never seen a dragon before, especially not in their own home. Hiccup realized that if he didn't break the silence, then things would begin to get very awkward between them all, so he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Your Majesty, this is my best friend, Toothless, and he's a Night Fury, which is the fastest, smartest, and rarest of all species of dragons." Hiccup explained.

He was hoping that the King and Queen would say something by now, but they remained silent, so Hiccup decided that he should say a few more things.

"The reason why I named him 'Toothless' is because he has retractable teeth," Hiccup said, before turning to his friend. "C'mon, bud, show them your smile."

Toothless quickly made his famous gummy smile, and eventually, it seemed to have a positive effect on the Scottish royals, as a smile appeared on their face. A small grin had come to Hiccup's face upon seeing this, and then he motioned for Toothless to come closer to Merida's parents, and Hiccup stayed by the dragon's side for the whole time. Merida still wasn't sure if Hiccup needed any help from her, but Merida kept herself quiet, because it looked like things were going pretty good for Hiccup so far.

The princess had a feeling that she knew exactly what would happen next, so Merida did her best to have faith that the meeting would go in that direction. Hiccup had knowledge of the saying "ladies first", so he decided that Queen Elinor should go first to gain Toothless' trust, so both of them turned to face her.

"Your Majesty, would you please bring out one of your hands for me?" Hiccup requested, and the Queen didn't waste any time in doing what Hiccup asked.

"Nothing bad is going to happen, Your Majesty," Hiccup assured as he took the Queen's hand. "You'll just have your hand on a spot above Toothless' nose."

"Just be patient, keep your hand out toward Toothless, and wait for him to come to you," Hiccup said, before turning his head to face Toothless, and with one of his hands, he motioned for Toothless to come closer, and so the dragon slowly walked in the Queen's direction.

Hiccup, Merida, and King Fergus all stayed silent and watched as Toothless stopped moving when his head came just below Queen Elinor's waiting palm. The Night Fury closed his eyes before raising his head and then pressing his nose into her palm, and the Queen quietly gasped with the soft feeling of it, as well as the warmth running into her palm, and coming right down her arm too.

"So, Your Majesty, do you feel that now?" Hiccup asked quietly, and Queen Elinor quickly brought her face up from staring at her hand to look at Hiccup with a expression of awe.

It wasn't long before the Queen slowly nodded her head, and Hiccup could immediately tell from the look on her face that she wasn't afraid of Toothless at all. Nonetheless, Hiccup reminded himself that it wasn't over yet, as he still needed to carry out the same technique with the King and everything would be okay. Hiccup let go of Queen Elinor's hand while Toothless brought his head down from the Queen's palm before the two of them moved to face King Fergus.

The Viking basically repeated the same things to the King that he'd said to his wife not long ago, from asking for one of his hands to asking the man if he felt the warmth coming from the dragon's nose. Merida began to assume that things were taking a turn for the worse, especially because her father hadn't changed the look on his face ever since Toothless had come into the room, but she refused to believe it. Perhaps it was possible that King Fergus still couldn't believe that dragons weren't dangerous, even though there was one in front of him being quite friendly.

If that was the case, then Merida felt like stepping forward to say something, but she decided not to do that when a grin appeared on the Scottish man's face. The King quickly brought his hand down from in between Toothless' nose to underneath his chin and started to scratch, which caused the dragon to purr loudly.

"Well, look at that, Haddock, yer dragon's just like my deerhounds," King Fergus admitted, and a bright smile appeared on Hiccup's face from what he heard.

It was at that moment Hiccup knew the meeting was a success, and Merida's parents weren't going to have a problem with Toothless being in their castle. The next few days wouldn't have the King and Queen, as well as their entire staff be frightened out of their wits whenever they were in the dragon's presence. When Hiccup brought his mind back to Toothless, he realized the direction of King Fergus' hand, but before he could even raise his hand in warning, the King's fingernails reached that special spot under the dragon's neck, causing Toothless to fall onto the stone floor. King Fergus quickly brought his hand back, while wondering if he hurt the Night Fury by accident, so Hiccup obviously felt the need to explain what happened.

"It's okay, Your Majesty, you didn't do anything wrong, dragons have a spot just under their jaw that they love to have scratched, and if pressed just right, it sends them straight to sleep." Hiccup said, making things more clear, and the King sighed in relief from hearing this.

"For a moment, I actually thought I killed yer dragon!" The King replied before chuckling a bit, then he and his family watched as Hiccup woke up Toothless.

"Killing dragons used to be the norm on Berk, but all that changed when I met Toothless, so Your Majesty, would you like to hear the story?" Hiccup asked.

Merida's eyes widened when she realized that she hadn't heard from Hiccup yet, and so she was quite excited that her parents would get to hear it as well.

"I'm sure that we'd all love to hear yer story when we have dinner, because that's usually when I tell the story of my battle with Mor'du." King Fergus replied.

Since he didn't feel a rush to tell them his story, Hiccup was willing to wait a few more hours, but he wondered of how he was going to pass the time. Obviously, Hiccup wanted to go flying with Toothless, but he didn't think Merida's parents would allow that with his head being injured not so long ago. If he was going to stay in their home for the next few days, then it would be right for Hiccup to be given a tour of the castle as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, would it be okay if I had a tour of the castle right now," Hiccup requested. "I'm don't plan to stay in my room the whole time I'm here."

Hiccup waited until the King and the Queen stood beside each other before saying all of that, and he didn't have to wait long for someone to answer.

"Of course, Mr. Haddock, and we wouldn't mind giving you a tour ourselves," Queen Elinor replied before turning to face her husband. "Right, Fergus?"

King Fergus instantly looked at his wife in confusion, since he'd expected they'd have a servant give the tour, but he didn't have anything else to do now.

"Yes, dear." The King responded in agreement, as he linked arms with the Queen. "So, Mr. Haddock, how would ye like to hear my story about Mor'du'?"

"Actually, your daughter's already told me that story, Your Majesty," Hiccup revealed. "Didn't you say that you only tell that story during dinner time?"

"That's right, I do, but the story's much better when I tell it." King Fergus answered, then he turned his head in Merida's direction. "No offense, lass."

"None taken, Dad." Merida replied, then gave her father a broad smile as she couldn't really argue with the fact that the King was a better storyteller.

Merida always loved hearing her father's stories, no matter how many times she'd heard them before, and he's told her stories ever since she was a child.

"I think my story's a little long, Your Majesty, so I'll let you tell your story first, because I wouldn't mind hearing it from someone else." Hiccup said.

Hearing his guest allow him to tell his story at the dinner table first made King Fergus much happier, and now he had no problem with giving a tour.

"Thanks, Mr. Haddock, now let's begin the tour!" The King replied, as Queen Elinor was pleased to see her husband having a more positive attitude.

Just as King Fergus was about to speak again, Hiccup quickly searched for his basket, and once he found it, Hiccup slung the basket over his shoulder.

"The room we're in right now is the Great Hall, and it's also known as the Throne room, since there's a throne for us and our children, it's where we have our meals, where speeches are given, and there's a large stone fireplace that warms the entire room." The King explained, while he pointed to the fireplace.

King Fergus watched as Hiccup went closer to the fireplace so that he could get a better look at it, and he soon returned to where the King stood.

"I actually have a fireplace in my house back on Berk," Hiccup revealed. "It's nothing like yours, Your Majesty, it's much bigger than mine." He added.

The King felt glad to know him and Hiccup had another thing in common besides having a pet, though Toothless was more of a best friend than a pet. Since he didn't want to leave Toothless behind, and he was sure the dragon wouldn't want him out of his sight, Hiccup woke up Toothless from his nap. Now that his dragon was awake, Hiccup and Toothless followed the Scottish royals as they all left the Great Hall and into one of the castle's hallways.

The Queen took the role of tour guide from her husband and showed the various classrooms where she taught Merida on how to become a real queen. Merida didn't enjoy her mother's lessons at first, but eventually, she realized how important they were, and never complained when it was time for one. As he looked in the classrooms, Hiccup noticed that each of them had a shelf full of books, which Queen Elinor must have used for her daughter's lessons.

Another room that the Viking and his Night Fury got to see was the Tapestry room, which held a certain tapestry in particular that the Queen sew herself. It was a large tapestry of Clan DunBroch, and although he finally saw what Merida's brothers looked like, there were four symbols Hiccup was curious about.

"This tapestry is amazing, Your Majesty, but if you don't mind, could you please tell me what these symbols are?" Hiccup asked, while pointing to each one.

Queen Elinor unlinked her arm with her husband's before walking over to stand beside Hiccup, and she pointed to her own kingdom's symbol before talking.

"This is Clan DunBroch's symbol, the mighty sword which represents bravery and protection of the kingdom." The Queen explained before moving her hand.

"This is Clan MacGuffin's symbol, a cauldron, because the entire clan was given the strength to slay ten thousand Macintosh soldiers in battle, which was all thanks to eating one moldy potato from a magical cauldron." Queen Elinor continued, as Hiccup's eyes widened in awe of the information he just heard.

"This is Clan Macintosh's symbol, an instrument called a lyre, since it helped the clan slay one thousand Dingwall soldiers by playing a magical tune." The Queen revealed.

"Finally, this is Clan Dingwall's symbol, a rock which is really an ancient relic held by the clan." Queen Elinor added before making her way out of the room.

She waited until Hiccup was out too before closing the door, and the Queen could easily tell just from the look on Hiccup's face that he liked the tapestry. It didn't seem necessary to ask if that wasn't true, so Queen Elinor thought it was best to go on with the tour instead of waste time doing nothing.

"I suppose you got a good look inside Merida's bedchamber, so I don't think you need to see the others, they all look the same." Queen Elinor said.

Hiccup didn't really pay that much attention to what was inside Merida's room after he woke up, he'd only been concerned with where Toothless was. If the Queen said there wasn't a need for him to see all the bedchambers, then Hiccup wouldn't argue with her and he'd just enjoy the rest of the tour.

As for the rooms Hiccup did get to see, there was the kitchen, and he obviously knew it was used to prepare and cook meals for Merida and her family. There was also the Trophy Room, which was where King Fergus kept his collection of trophies that were always stuffed and mounted on the wall.

Eventually, the group of five went outside, but only because there were a few more places of interest that couldn't be found inside of the castle. They started with the cellar which held both the drinks and the King's private reserves, and seeing all of it caused Hiccup to think about the drinks on Berk.

Mostly every weekend and after every hunt, the Vikings would gather around the communal tables in the Great Hall and down a few pints. Of course, the drinking would double and triple when other neighboring tribes would come over. Stoick, usually the sober and hard-working chieftain, was known for having won many drinking contests.

Hiccup and his friends had been allowed to drink when they first began dragon training. The three other guys and Ruffnut always liked to gather and talk needlessly over a mug of ale or a cup of fresh mead. The Hall's particular brew was that of honey and water fermented with blackcurrants named black mead, but as the Vikings were people of few words, they just called it mead.

Out of all his fellow dragon riders, Astrid was the least alcoholic and she more than likely wouldn't ever be caught drunk. Suddenly, Hiccup wondered if his absence had affected Astrid so much that she had turned to alcohol to drown her sorrows. Not only did Astrid tell Hiccup she loved him, but she also said that she missed him the whole time that she was away on her fishing trip.

Astrid must have felt devastated to know that he didn't feel the same way as she did and just left on a trip without even saying goodbye. Even though Hiccup did write a sincere letter before leaving Berk, he had written and addressed it to his father and nobody else.

Hiccup also realized ever since he left, he hadn't spent much time even thinking about his relationship with Astrid and if he wanted to take things further. Perhaps once this tour of Merida's home was over, Hiccup could go to his room and actually give the idea of a future with Astrid some consideration.

"Mr. Haddock!" All of a sudden, hearing that had caused Hiccup to lose his train of thought and look around quickly for the person who just spoke.

"There's a few more places nearby we'd like to show you," Queen Elinor declared. "However, we can't do that until you're following us." She added.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Hiccup replied, as he made his way out of the dimly lit room. "I was just lost in thought over something." He mentioned.

"Would you like to tell us about it, Mr. Haddock, or is it rather something private?" The Queen asked, and it didn't take long for Hiccup to give his answer.

"It's private, Your Majesty!" Hiccup responded while walking to catch up with the Scottish royals. "So. . .what's the next place you want to show me?"

Not too much time had passed before Hiccup was shown the stables, and thanks to Queen Elinor telling him earlier today, he already knew its purpose. Merida took this as an opportunity to spend a bit of time with Angus by placing a fresh coat of straw in his stall and using a brush to comb his hair for a bit. Even though Hiccup had seen Merida with her horse before, it wasn't until now he realized they had a very strong and loving bond, and Hiccup also believed that Merida allowed no one but herself to see to Angus' care.

"Your Majesty," Hiccup said, then both of Merida's parents turned to face him, since Hiccup used a title that addressed a King and Queen. "How long has Merida had that horse?"

"Quite a long time, actually, Mr. Haddock," The Queen answered, and soon Hiccup a lot more interested to know about Merida's history with Angus.

"When Merida was just a wee lass, we gave her a rockin' horse for her birthday, and it was a horse that looked just like Angus." King Fergus revealed.

"To this day, she still has that rocking horse in her room, and I'm sure you probably saw it since you were in there earlier." Queen Elinor disclosed.

Unfortunately, Hiccup had been too focused on his head injury and where Toothless was to even notice that Merida had a rocking horse in her room.

"Anyway, Merida would not only use a harp as a makeshift bow but she'd constantly ride that rockin' horse and pretend to be shootin' arrows with a stick." The King said, before chuckling at the memory.

"One day, and it wasn't too long after her sixth birthday, Merida asked us if she could have a horse of her own, and even though she was so young at the time, we just couldn't say no." The Queen added.

"It wouldn't have been right to give a fully grown horse to Merida, so we waited until one of our horses was goin' to give birth." King Fergus replied.

"Once a foal was finally born, Merida insisted on taking care of the horse, but we'd told her she could look after it when she got older." Queen Elinor said.

"Angus got his name from a kind of cattle found here in Scotland that has been bred to make meat and milk for centuries." The King told Hiccup.

Hiccup had to admit it was great to know not just how Merida got to have Angus, but also that they've been best friends since she was a kid. The Queen was about to continue the story when they noticed Merida walking toward them, so her parents decided to continue with the tour. Now that Merida was with them, the next place they showed Hiccup was the garden, where the castle workers gathered plants for food and medicine.

After that were the pens, an area where the Dunbroch family kept highland cattle, boreray sheep, chickens and other Scottish livestock. Next was the 'bear dane', a castle tower where King Fergus could take long naps, which came to an end if his triplet sons were nearby. Finally, there was the gatehouse, an entrance that people used to go in and out of the the castle walls, and it's also where the triplet brothers liked to stand on top of and dump water on visitors.

"Speaking of the triplets, Your Majesty, perhaps it would be nice if Toothless got to meet them, since they are part of the family." Hiccup suggested.

"As a matter of fact, Mr. Haddock, it wouldn't be fair for the boys not to see your dragon, and the two of you won't be here forever." Queen Elinor responded.

Hiccup's eyes widened a little as he assumed that the Queen would've been reluctant to let her triplet sons anywhere near an actual live dragon.

"Are you sure, Your Majesty, because the last thing I'd want is for your sons to have nightmares, even though Toothless isn't dangerous." Hiccup said.

"Mr. Haddock, if my boys can never get tired of hearing how their father lost his leg, I'm sure they'll enjoy meeting your dragon." The Queen replied.

"I'm glad to hear that," Hiccup said, expressing his gratitude before turning to face the King. "Your Majesty, I'd still like to hear that story of yours."

"How about this, Mr. Haddock, after I've told my story at dinner tonight, ye can tell yers," King Fergus suggested. "Does that sound good for ye?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Hiccup responded, as he held out a hand toward the King. "Let's shake on it, so that we'll know we've made an agreement."

Merida and her mother both simply looked on with delight as Hiccup and King Fergus shook hands with a smile on their faces before they let go.

"Now then, what are we waitin' for?" The King asked, while turning to face his family. "Let's go back inside and find those wee devils!" He added.

Everybody else gave a nod in agreement before they made their way into the castle and it wasn't long before a question came to Hiccup's mind.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty," Hiccup said, and in no time at all, King Fergus and his wife turned to face him. "How are we going to find your sons?"

"That's easy," Queen Elinor replied. "We just have to find Maudie, and if the boys aren't with her, then she'll help us search for them." She explained.

"So I guess Maudie wasn't the same servant who led me to the bathroom and ran a bath for me earlier today?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Maudie is the triplets' nursemaid, meaning it's her job to look after them, and she always does it begrudgingly." The Queen responded.

"You mean no matter how many pranks they do, and how much trouble they cause, Maudie never complains, not even once?" Hiccup inquired.

"I'm sure that she does complain at times, but never when me and Fergus are around, because that would be bad for her." Queen Elinor replied.

"If you don't mind, Your Majesty, I'd rather not know about the consequences of bad-mouthing the two of you." Hiccup said truthfully.

"Well, in that case, Mr. Haddock, we'll make sure that ye never find out, just as long as ye never ask us either." The King suggested.

"That sounds good to me, Your Majesty." Hiccup answered before giving a broad smile, and King Fergus didn't hesitate to smile back.

The moment unexpectedly came to an end as they all heard the sound of footsteps which were becoming much louder by the second. Hiccup and Toothless wondered who was approaching, but Merida and her family already felt positive of who they'd be seeing soon. It wasn't long before Maudie, the nursemaid they'd been searching for, came into their sight and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Oh, Maudie! You were just the person that we've wanted to see." The Queen declared, as Maudie stood back up to face the family.

Maudie was about to say something when her eyes caught sight of Toothless, but before she could have a chance to scream, Merida held up both of her hands to stop her.

"It's alright, Maudie! We know it's a dragon, but he's not goin' to hurt any of us." Merida assured before turning around to face Hiccup.

"Hey, dragon boy, maybe now's a good time to introduce Toothless the same way ye did for me and my parents." Merida suggested.

At first, Hiccup raised an eyebrow and gave a smirk from Merida's nickname for him, but he genuinely agreed with the princess' idea. Merida and her parents all stepped aside so that Hiccup could have Toothless come a little bit closer to Maudie, but not too much. Basically, Hiccup did exactly what Merida suggested and to everyone's relief, the nursemaid didn't look so afraid of Toothless anymore.

A grin had made its way to Maudie's face as she repeated what the King had done earlier and scratched under the dragon's chin. Hiccup's eyes slowly began to widen as he saw the direction of Maudie's hand, before quickly holding up his hands and shouting "Stop!" Everyone instantly turned to look at Hiccup with confusion, as they wondered what Maudie could have done that was so wrong to him.

"Don't worry, ma'am, you did nothing wrong. It's just there's a spot under Toothless' jaw where if you press it, he'll fall asleep." Hiccup explained.

Maudie breathed a sigh of relief from knowing that she hadn't done anything wrong, while Merida and her family didn't look so confused anymore.

"I'm sorry for making you think otherwise. . ." Hiccup said, and he was going to keep on talking when he saw Maudie shaking her head to him.

"There's no need to apologize, Mr. Haddock, and I'm glad to know that your dragon isn't a dangerous creature." Maudie replied with a smile.

Hiccup smiled back and just as he opened his mouth to say something, Hiccup turned to see Queen Elinor coming closer, so he stepped aside.

"Thank you, Mr. Haddock," The Queen said, acknowledging what Hiccup just did. "Maudie, would you care to tell us why you had been running?"

"Yes, Your majesty, I told the boys that they couldn't have any sweets until after dinner, but obviously, they didn't listen and stole a plate of sweets from the kitchen and now I can't seem to find them anywhere." Maudie explained.

"This must have happened when we were all outside the castle, but don't worry, I know exactly how we can find those boys." Hiccup declared.

Everyone in the hallway, including Toothless, quickly looked at Hiccup with curiosity, since they were eager to know what idea the boy had in mind.

"I've lived with dragons long enough to know they've a strong sense of smell, so Toothless should be able to sniff the boys out." Hiccup proposed.

"Now that's a great idea!" King Fergus responded. "We should start off at the kitchen since that's where the sweets were taken." He suggested.

The Scottish royals led the way to the kitchen, as Maudie followed close behind them, with Hiccup and Toothless being at the very back. When they finally made it to their destination, Toothless brought his head closer to the floor and began sniffing while the others looked on. A few servants happened to be in the kitchen so they were obviously surprised to see Toothless, but before they could even panic, both the King and Queen insisted for their servants to continue working and keep their attention away from the dragon's presence.

It wasn't long until Toothless had sniffed his way out of the kitchen and was back in the hallway, and everyone else stayed close behind him. What they didn't know was that wherever the triplets were hiding with those sweets, the boys had left a trail of crumbs on their way there. This certainly gave the Night Fury a better advantage of finding the boys, and because it's been a since he had anything to eat, Toothless ate as many crumbs as possible, and it didn't even matter to him of whether they were big or small.

Since Hiccup had been walking right next to his best friend, it wasn't too hard for him to notice, so once Toothless had found the triplets, Hiccup would make sure to ask Merida's parents if they could give the dragon a big supply of fish for dinnertime. Eventually, the trail of crumbs led Toothless, Hiccup, along with Merida, her family and nursemaid up the stairs to the castle's roof, but unfortunately, they weren't able to get themselves out through the door because it was locked, which was very strange. Neither the King nor the Queen had a reason to lock the door at the moment, but the triplets obviously did, so Merida brought herself closer to the door, since she was sure that her brothers would open the door for her if she was the one to ask them.

"Boys, it's yer sister. Mum and Dad are pretty worried about ye. Could ye please show yerselves so I can tell them ye're alright?" Merida requested.

Not even a minute had passed until everyone could hear footsteps from outside, and these footsteps got much louder as they came closer to the door. This confirmed the fact that the triplets had been using the roof as their hiding place, and they were about to open the door and reveal themselves when-

"You boys better get back in here, or so help me. . ." Maudie said, then quickly covered her mouth as everyone looked at her with displeasure.

To their disappointment, they heard the sound of footsteps again, but this time, it meant that the triplets were now walking away from the door.

"Now that's just great, Maudie, now they'll never open the door for us!" Merida rebuked before turning to her father. "Dad, do ye have your sword?"

"Sorry, lass, but when Mr. Haddock said I shouldn't have any weapons when his dragon's around, I thought he meant at all times." The King answered.

Merida couldn't really be upset about that, Toothless wouldn't have been able to trust her father if he had been carrying a sword or any other weapon.

"We're gonna need somethin' that can bust this door," Merida informed, and that's when Hiccup had an idea, which got him to look over at Toothless.

Despite the fact it would likely cause a lot of damage, Hiccup was sure they didn't have an alternative in mind, so he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Excuse me," Hiccup said, and this led to everyone now giving the boy their attention. "I may have the perfect solution for this problem." He proclaimed.

The King and Queen, along with their daughter and nursemaid all waited for Hiccup to say his answer in words, but all he did was glance at his dragon. Hiccup had been expecting for at least one of them to instantly shake their head and turn down his idea, but to his surprise and joy, Maudie and the Scottish royals each gave a small smile to Hiccup while nodding in agreement.

"There's a good chance that we'll get a lot of bits and pieces of wood," Hiccup predicted out loud, before turning to face everyone else. "All of you might want to go down a lot of steps, you know, just to be safe." He suggested.

It didn't take long for Merida and the others to do just that, as they went down two flights of stairs and Hiccup brought his attention back to Toothless.

"Alright, bud, it's time to get those triplets!" Hiccup declared confidently, and his best friend gave a nod before firing a single shot at the roof's door.

Like every other shot Toothless had done in the past, this one was clearly effective, as it caused both sides of the door to shatter into tiny pieces. Neither Merida nor her parents nor Maudie got hurt in the process of the shot and Hiccup was quickly protected by Toothless with one of his wings. Once all the debris from the door was gone, Hiccup and Toothless waited a few seconds before going out to the roof and they started to go around it. When the Viking and his Night Fury found the triplets at last, they could easily see that the boys had crumbs all over their faces and there were no more sweets on the plate the three of them were holding.

"Well, it looks like you boys are in lot of trouble," Hiccup said with his hands on his hips. "Stealing a plate of sweets and having them before dinner?"

The triplets gave a sheepish smile, but said nothing at all to Hiccup, and they turned around to try and make an escape, only to freeze when they came face to face with Toothless.

"You see, boys, the dragon you're looking at right now is a Night Fury, also known as 'the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself'." Hiccup mentioned.

Each prince's eyes grew wider from not only what they heard Hiccup say, but from Toothless baring his teeth and growling with his eyes narrowed to slits.

"He's not exactly a fan of kids or anybody else who take food from the kitchen and he won't rest until there's a punishment for those people." Hiccup told.

All of the boys quickly turned to face Hiccup before they got down on their faces and had their hands clasped together to make their best begging position. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle, as it seemed that the triplets actually believed he'd get Toothless to hurt them, but Hiccup knew they were still children. Not to mention that he'd be in serious trouble with their parents, and that's the last thing Hiccup wanted, since he already got them to trust Toothless. In spite of that, Merida's brothers still did something wrong, and they needed to be punished, so Hiccup had to think of something that wasn't violent. Suddenly, Hiccup came up with an idea, and it wasn't just an idea that involved Toothless, but it was an idea the triplets probably wouldn't mind doing as well.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, Maudie," Merida said, as she faced her parents and the nursemaid all at once. "I think it's safe for us to go to the roof now," She added.

At first, the three adults weren't too sure, because they didn't hear Hiccup tell them it was safe, but they still went ahead and followed Merida up the stairs. When all of them saw there was no longer a door, the King and Queen couldn't be upset, because they knew there hadn't been another option to open it. Now that they were finally on the roof, not one of them had expected to see the triplets hanging onto Hiccup for dear life as he flew with Toothless above and around the castle.

"What does Mr. Haddock even think he's doin?" King Fergus asked, as he and the others stared in complete disbelief of the flight they were all witnessing.

"Punishin' the boys." Merida replied, before a smile soon came to her face, and she waved to Hiccup, hoping he would notice, and he did by waving back.


	8. Familiar Foes

The King and Queen were both quite happy to see that Hiccup was giving a unique punishment of his own to the triplets for their theft, but they were slightly worried that one of the boys would soon fall off Toothless, since they weren't secure on the dragon like Hiccup was with his saddle. Toothless had been pulling off all sorts of daring acrobatic moves, such as corkscrews and loop-de-loops, which made the triplets feel very dizzy. Unbeknownst to them, Hiccup didn't plan for this flight to last forever, so he decided it had to end, but not until it ended with an apology for Maudie.

"Hey, bud, let's slow down a little bit," Hiccup requested, and once the Night Fury had done just that, the Viking brought his attention to the princes.

"Alright, boys, there's only one way for this ride to come to an end, and that's to apologize to your nursemaid for disobeying her." Hiccup declared.

As much as the triplets didn't regret eating all those sweets, they knew that Hiccup wouldn't let them down safely until they did what Hiccup told them.

"We're sorry!" The triplets kept saying over and over again, but not before looking to find Maudie standing on the roof with their sister and parents.

When they saw that Toothless and Hiccup were now approaching, Merida and everyone else moved to the roof's other side so that they could land.

"Remember, boys, the next time the three of you cause trouble, Mr. Haddock will make sure to give you another crazy flight, understood?" Maudie asked.

Each of the triplets slowly gave a nod when suddenly, their eyes widened, and all of them ran over to the roof's edge before vomiting out the sweets. Hiccup and Toothless, along with everyone else couldn't help but cringe from the sound they could all hear come from the triplets while they threw up.

"That's weird, because Toothless has flown like that many times, and I've never actually felt sick, not even once." Hiccup said while scratching his head.

"I guess ye and I have somethin' in common," Merida replied, as Hiccup got off Toothless and moved to face her. "I never get sick when I ride Angus."

"Maybe it's because we don't eat a lot of food before we go for a ride, so anyway, what did you think of the punishment I gave the boys? "Hiccup asked.

"If I knew how to fly Toothless, I would've done the same thing to my brothers!" Merida responded, and she stepped aside when her mother came forward.

"I thought it was rather fitting, Mr. Haddock," Queen Elinor said, as she gave a small smile to Hiccup, who was relived to know the Queen wasn't unhappy.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Hiccup replied, before he noticed the triplets going back inside the castle, along with Maudie carrying the plate they took earlier.

"Well, now that the boys have been punished for eating those sweets, I don't think there's a reason for any of us to stay on this roof." Hiccup announced.

Merida and her parents nodded in agreement before they went down the door, and just as Hiccup had slung his basket over his shoulder again, that's when he realized he had Toothless destroy the roof's door. Hiccup didn't give any attention to that fact at first because there wasn't another option to open the door and he was so focused on getting to the triplets. Still, Hiccup felt like he owed the King and Queen an apology and so he waited until they were all done with going down the stairs before speaking up.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Hiccup said, and this caused both of Merida's parents to face him. "I'd like to apologize for having Toothless destroy that door-"

Hiccup stopped talking as soon as he saw the Scottish royals hold up their hands, and he continued to stay quiet when the King and Queen stepped forward.

"There's no need to apologize, Mr. Haddock. We had no weapons around, and it would've took forever to get one and come right back." Queen Elinor excused.

Hiccup felt a little better about the door being destroyed, but he still wanted to make it up to them somehow, but before he could speak, King Fergus went first.

"Don't worry about fixin' the door either, Haddock," The King said, as he put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We'll have somebody take care of it soon." He added.

Hiccup was about to insist on fixing the door himself when he decided that it wouldn't have been right to do that, since he'd probably just start an argument.

"I understand, Your Majesty," Hiccup responded, when all of a sudden, his stomach made a growling sound, which was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Obviously, it got Merida chortling, her mother giggling while covering her mouth, along with her father and Toothless laughing, which lasted half of a minute.

"Ye must be pretty hungry if your stomach's rumblin' like that, huh?" Merida asked, and the only things that Hiccup did were nod and give a sheepish smile.

"No need to panic, Hiccup, it won't be long before dinner, and then ye'll finally get to tell the story of how a dragon became yer friend." Merida informed.

A small smile had come to Hiccup's face from hearing Merida say that, because it must have been at least a few hours since he had something to eat. Hiccup also realized that it's been a while since Toothless ate anything, but he wasn't sure if Merida's family stored fish, so Hiccup decided to ask them.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Hiccup repeated, and once again, both the King and Queen turned to face the young teen. "Do you have any fish?" He asked.

"I'm afraid we don't, Mr. Haddock, but if you'd like some, we could send a servant outside to catch and bring some back for you." Queen Elinor answered.

"It's not me who wants the fish, Your Majesty," Hiccup said, before taking a glance at his dragon. "Toothless eats salmon and Icelandic Cod." He added.

Toothless and Hiccup frowned in unison, as they started to believe that the Night Fury would have to stay back in the forest so he'd get a proper meal. Hiccup didn't want that to happen, since he'd obviously miss Toothless the whole time and he recently got Merida's parents to accept Toothless' presence. It's not like Hiccup and Toothless couldn't handle being in the woods, since they've done it many times, but Hiccup wanted to spend more time with Merida.

Even though he had Toothless with him, it felt great for Hiccup to have a human friend during his time away from Berk, not that he didn't miss his village. Hiccup wrote in the letter for his father that he'd be gone for at least a week, and only a day has passed, so that meant Hiccup had six days left of his trip. Actually, Hiccup had five days and a half left right now, since it was the afternoon of the first day, and like Merida said, dinnertime would be coming soon.

"Wait a minute, Elinor, we do have fish." King Fergus reminded, and hearing this caused Toothless and Hiccup to face the King with a look of absolute joy.

"Really, Fergus, because I don't remember seeing any fish in the kitchen, even though we were in there twice today." The Queen replied with uncertainty.

"That's because we carry all the fish in barrels and they're usually closed shut because none of the servants like the smell of them." King Fergus explained.

"Perhaps we should go to the kitchen once more, so Mr. Haddock and his dragon can have proof, and you can prove me wrong." Queen Elinor suggested.

The King gave a smirk to his wife, since he knew that she was being sarcastic with the last part of that sentence, so they all headed to the castle's kitchen. The group was down to only Hiccup and Toothless, along with Merida and her parents, because Maudie was now watching the triplets somewhere else. When they finally made it to the kitchen for the third time today, any servants that were around didn't bother to turn their head and continued working. Everyone followed King Fergus as he walked over to the barrels, and Hiccup noticed there were about ten, which meant half of them could be for Toothless. Speaking of the dragon, he was already showing his hunger by licking his lips as soon as the King opened up one of the barrels, which held plenty of fish.

"See, dear," The King said, while facing his wife with a playful smile on his face. "Haddock and his dragon now have proof, and I've proved you wrong too."

The Queen didn't say anything to her husband but gave him a smirk of her own, which quickly left her face as she turned to look at Hiccup and Toothless.

"Well, Mr. Haddock, I believe I owe you an apology for having both you and your dragon worried, because I could tell that you were." Queen Elinor said.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I accept your apology, and I should probably get out of this flight suit, since I won't be flying to dinner." Hiccup responded.

Hiccup didn't intend to make a joke from what he said, he was being sarcastic, so he was quite surprised when Merida and her parents started chuckling. However, if none of the royals were in a bad mood, then Hiccup didn't think he had any reason to worry, but Hiccup still felt that he had to correct them.

"I'm glad you all thought that was funny, but I'm serious," Hiccup said, before he looked down at his outfit. "I do have something underneath." He added.

"That's good to know, Mr. Haddock," King Fergus replied before turning to face his daughter. "Merida, why don't you take them both back to their room?"

"Dad, don't ye remember what I told ye earlier?" Merida inquired, and to her utter disappointment, her father only shrugged while shaking his head.

"I said that I didn't want Hiccup to be in a room that I couldn't find so easily." Merida reminded, and a frown had soon come across her mother's face.

"Mr. Haddock is our guest, Merida, so him and his dragon will both be staying in a guest room until they leave for their home." The Queen announced.

Before her daughter had a chance to argue with her, Queen Elinor called for a servant to take Toothless and Hiccup to their own room in the castle. Merida kept her eyes on Hiccup as the boy and his dragon followed the servant out of the kitchen, and it wasn't until they were out of sight when Merida turned to face her mother again.

"Merida, you're free to follow them if. . ." The Queen didn't get to finish the rest of that sentence as Merida already had left the kitchen in a hurry.

Luckily for the princess, she didn't have to run too much, since Toothless and Hiccup were only in the middle of the hallway with the castle's servant.

"Hiccup, wait!" Merida shouted, and obviously, that caused the Viking, along with his Night Fury to stop right where they were and turn around.

When she finally made it to the three of them, Merida took a deep breath to calm herself down first, and she noticed that Hiccup looked very confused.

"Oh, Merida, is something wrong?" Hiccup asked concernedly, as he wondered what could have happened to have the girl suddenly run up to him.

Nothin's wrong, Hiccup." Merida answered, while shaking her head a few times. "I just wanted to see which room ye'll be staying in." She added.

"Alright, but may I ask why?" Hiccup inquired, as he really wanted to know why it was so important for Merida to know the location of his guest room.

"When we have company, they usually come from any of the three clans, so it's rare for us to have visitors from a different land." Merida explained.

Hiccup realized that Merida only wanted them to spend as much time together as possible, since him and Toothless wouldn't be here for that long. He enjoyed all of the things he's done with Merida so far, from telling each other stories and catching fish from a stream to racing through the woods. Even though he ended up with his head being injured after that race, Hiccup knew it was partly his fault for not wearing his helmet during that time. Hiccup was kinda glad it happened though, since it led to Merida's parents to allow Hiccup and his dragon to stay in their castle for the next several days.

"Okay, Merida, I understand now." Hiccup replied, and a small smile had come on his face before he gestured for the redhead to walk beside him.

For a few minutes, the three of them all kept quiet as they followed the servant until something came to Hiccup's mind, which caused him to speak up.

"So, Merida, do you think my guest room will look different than your bedchamber?" Hiccup asked, and he gave Merida some time to think of an answer.

"Honestly, Hiccup, I think it's just goin' to look like every other bedchamber in this castle, but I hope that's okay with the two of ye." Merida answered.

"As long as the room has a comfortable bed for me and enough space for Toothless, then I'll be happy with it, no matter what." Hiccup said confidently.

Merida felt sort of relieved to know that Hiccup didn't have any absurd demands for what he wanted, such as a full length mirror for him or a bathtub for his dragon. This led the girl to realize that Hiccup was different than the other boys she's known in her life, and Merida didn't consider that to be a bad thing at all. She remembered all too well when the young heirs from the three nearby clans were presented as suitors, and there were many reasons why Merida didn't like it. One reason for this is that she wasn't given a chance to get to know each of the heirs in a platonic manner, she was just expected to make a huge commitment to one of them.

Merida was glad that her mother hadn't brought up the topic of marriage, but that's probably because Queen Elinor was keeping in mind of what her daughter said about how she and the other heirs should be free to "follow their hearts and find love in their own time". The princess didn't have any interest in Hiccup romantically, since she knew he had a girlfriend, who would possibly become his wife if he agreed to marry her when he returned to his village. Merida didn't know this girl in any way, so she couldn't tell Hiccup of whether he should go through with the marriage or not, and Hiccup's personal life was only his business unless he talked about it with her. Suddenly, all of Merida's thoughts came to an end as she noticed the servant stop at a door in particular and open it up to let Toothless and Hiccup inside.

"Thank you for showing us to our room. We really appreciate it." Hiccup said to the servant, who smiled and gave a bow before leaving the three of them.

When they all walked inside, Merida couldn't help but feel a little envious of Hiccup right now, as his guest room was the same size as her parents' room. Even though it came with a four poster bed like Merida's room, Toothless and Hiccup's room also had a fireplace with a fur rug in front of it, a wardrobe, and a small shelf nearby. There were plenty of things in this shelf, such as a pitcher and a large bowl of water, a few books, and other things that weren't so familiar to Hiccup.

"Well, I can't say that I'm disappointed with this," Hiccup confessed, before he turned to face Toothless. "So, bud, do you like our room?" He asked.

Hiccup obviously knew the dragon's answer when he turned his head and saw Toothless nod his head while giving one of his signature toothless grins. It made sense for them to have a room like this, since they were guests and they didn't have any plans to permanently stay with Merida and her family. Hiccup took the basket off his shoulder and dropped it on a spot near the bed, and he was about to take off his flight suit when he realized something.

"Hey, Merida," Hiccup said, as he turned around to face the princess. "I'd like to get out of my flight suit, so. . .could I have a little privacy?" He requested.

Merida stared at Hiccup for a bit until she realized that dinnertime would be coming soon, which meant it wasn't necessary for Hiccup to wear his flight suit.

"Of course, Hiccup," Merida replied, and she quickly went out of the room, but held off on closing the door since there was something she wanted to tell him.

"Just so ye know, Hiccup, a servant will stop by shortly to take ye and Toothless to the Great Hall when dinner's ready. I'll see ye later." Merida informed.

Hiccup gave a nod to show Merida he understood, but before he could even respond with any words, Merida already had closed the door and walked away. Although he wanted Merida to leave the room so he could change, that didn't mean Hiccup wanted her to leave him alone literally, but then again, he remembered that Merida only came with them so she could know the location of their room. Hiccup also figured that Merida was going to wash up for dinner, since she was a princess, so it must be important for her to look clean and proper for every meal. For all Hiccup knew, the servant could show up at his room any minute now, so piece by piece, Hiccup discarded the flight suit from off of his body, and now, he was wearing just a long-sleeve and light-green tunic, brown pants, and a fur boot.

Hiccup hoped that his outfit would be appropriate enough, even though he was only having dinner with Merida's family, not going to some extravagant party. If there was any sort of party coming up in the next five days, then Hiccup would ask the King and Queen for help, since he didn't bring something suitable with him. For the time being, Hiccup decided to take a nap, since flying on Toothless with the triplets and walking around the castle had taken a lot of energy out of him. Even though Hiccup was tempted to lay down on the bed, he knew that he had the next five nights to use it, so he chose to have his nap with Toothless.

"Hey, bud, we'll be having dinner very soon," Hiccup said, as he patted Toothless on the head. "It wouldn't hurt if we took a little nap till then." He added.

Although the Night Fury wasn't technically starving, Toothless thought that he could handle waiting a little longer for dinner, so he laid down on the ground. Toothless held off on closing his eyes shut until Hiccup was sitting down on the floor and made himself comfortable with his back against the dragon's chest.

When Hiccup, Stoick, and Toothless came outside, they surveyed the now-deserted village, with all the residents waiting at the clearing chosen for the ceremony. Even though Hiccup really wanted his wedding to be small, his father reminded him that it was rude to get married and not invite every person he had met in his life. From the center of town, Hiccup noticed Gobber trotting along to join them, and so the three men and single dragon walked in companionable silence to the clearing. When the Viking, his best friend, his father, and his honorary uncle finally arrived, the large crowd parted at their appearance, leaving an open corridor to the altar.

As Hiccup made his slow and self-conscious march through the sea of well-wishers, hands periodically shot out to pat him on the back and voices of encouragement raised through the air. When he had reached his destination, Stoick and Gobber slipped into the front of the crowd, leaving Hiccup with only Toothless as well as Gothi the elder, who would officiate. With a quiet croon of concern, Toothless slipped his head beneath Hiccup's arm, which allowed the young man to lean on him in support. Gothi clutched her staff and smiled knowingly as she stood at the altar, while the air around Hiccup buzzed with chatter from the attendees.

Suddenly, the murmuring crowd went silent and parted once again as Hiccup jerked his excitedly, but a frown quickly appeared on his face. It wasn't Alrick Hofferson who was walking the bride down the aisle, but King Fergus, and Hiccup started to wonder how that was even possible. Hiccup didn't remember making a request to invite any people who lived outside of Berk, and the last time Hiccup checked, Astrid's father wasn't deathly ill either. If Stoick knew this was going to happen, then Hiccup didn't understand why his father wouldn't tell him in advance, so it wouldn't have taken by surprise.

When Hiccup moved his head to search for his father, he became a lot more confused when Stoick wasn't anywhere to be seen, and neither was Gobber. Hiccup eventually noticed that the crowd was full of men that he'd never seen before, and they were all wearing different colored kilts like King Fergus. For a moment, Hiccup believed that Toothless was gone too, but when he turned to see that the dragon was still right by his side, he let out a sigh of relief.

Hiccup decided to bring his attention back to the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with, since that was the whole point of why they were getting married. The bride was wearing a long, draped and shimmering dress with a color of cornflower blue, and she also wore a veil covering her face, along with some kind of garment which concealed her hair and neck. Despite thinking it was a little strange for Astrid to have both her face and hair hidden, Hiccup thought she looked absolutely beautiful, and he couldn't wait to see her face once the veil had been raised.

"You look so beautiful," Hiccup whispered kindly to his future wife as she finally joined him at the altar. "I'm so happy to be marrying you, Astrid." He added.

"Who the heck is Astrid?" The bride asked, and she pulled the veil up from her face and took the garment off from her hair to show Hiccup her real identity.

Hiccup's eyes widened in shock as he saw the bride was actually Merida, with her long curly red hair that was now free from being trapped in that garment.

"Merida? What are you doing here?" Hiccup inquired, as he began to think this was some kind of a joke, and his father and Gobber were both in on it too.

"Why shouldn't I be here, Hiccup? This is our wedding!" Merida reminded, and that's when Hiccup looked back at the huge crowd of men who were watching them.

Hiccup realized that they were the three clans that DunBroch had an alliance with, so now, it made a lot more sense why the clans would be here for the wedding. For a moment, Hiccup was worried that Toothless wasn't with him anymore, but to the boy's relief, Hiccup turned to see that the dragon was still right next to him. Hiccup also noticed that a large black horse was standing near Toothless, but he soon remembered it was Angus, a Scottish Clydesdale who was Merida's best friend. There had to be a very good explanation for all of this, Hiccup would know if he agreed to marry a Scottish princess if the marriage prevented war with her kingdom.

Hiccup's relationship with his father has improved in the last five years, so it seemed very odd for Stoick not to tell his son that he wouldn't be marrying Astrid. All of a sudden, Hiccup started to feel quite dizzy, and he didn't bother to believe if the reason was he didn't have something to eat earlier because he already knew. He was standing at the altar to marry a girl he didn't love, not to mention he was being watched by a huge crowd of men that he didn't even know personally. Hiccup's eyes rolled to the back of his head just as he fainted, and whatever voices he could hear were quickly drowned out as he fell deeper into unconsciousness.

Hiccup suddenly propelled off from Toothless' back, and he was now startled and panting, while he also felt sweat clinging to his forehead at the same time. Hiccup took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as he wiped the sweat off from his forehead, and then he got back up on his feet before he started thinking. Did he actually just have a dream that he was marrying Merida, because he didn't know any other girl who had a Scottish accent and a mass of red, curly hair.

Obviously, it wasn't going to ever happen, since Hiccup already had a girlfriend back home, and he didn't think that Merida was interested in having a relationship. Hiccup didn't believe he had any reason to tell Merida about his dream, because the last thing he wanted was to make things awkward between the two of them. However, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if the dream actually meant something, such as whether his father had met with King Fergus and the other three clans in the past.

All of a sudden, Hiccup yelped in surprise as he heard a knock come from his bedroom's door, and this had even caused Toothless to wake up from his nap too. Hiccup assumed that it was Merida on the other side of the door, but then he remembered the princess telling him that a servant would come by and take them to the Great Hall. When Hiccup walked over to the door and opened it up, he wasn't too surprised to see a servant standing in front of him, and Hiccup smiled while keeping quiet as he let the servant speak.

"Dinner is ready, Mr. Haddock, and I'm sure that you'll already aware that I've come to take you and your dragon to the Great Hall." The servant informed.

"Yes, Merida told me earlier that you'd be coming," Hiccup replied, before he turned to face Toothless. "C'mon, bud, we don't want to keep them waiting."

Hiccup walked out of his room, but he held off on closing the door until his best friend was out too, then they both followed the servant through the hallway. The Viking decided to stay behind the servant, since he didn't want the woman to look at his face and ask if something was wrong, because that wasn't true. Even though he wasn't going to tell anyone about his dream, that didn't stop Hiccup from thinking about it, which could explain the frown he had on his face.

Merida and her family were expecting Hiccup to tell the story of how he stopped a war with dragons, but Hiccup knew it wouldn't get to happen if he had his mind focused on something completely different. Hiccup had plenty of time to forget about his dream, since he remembered telling the King that he should go first with his story about the demon bear Mor'du. Although he did enjoy hearing about the bear when Merida told him yesterday, Hiccup was still interested to hear the girl's father talk about the animal himself.

When they finally arrived, Hiccup noticed there was a large table in the middle of the room, and he also saw that Merida and her family were already seated. King Fergus and Queen Elinor each sat on one end of the table, while Merida sat on one side of the table, and all her three brothers were sitting on the other. Hiccup knew right away that he'd be sitting next to Merida, but Hiccup didn't mind that at all, since they could have a chance to talk before their dinner came.

"It's nice of you to join us, Mr. Haddock." The Queen said as she and everyone else had their heads turned to see Hiccup and Toothless approaching the table.

"Thanks, Your Majesty," Hiccup responded as he took a seat with Toothless sitting right next to his chair. "I hope you weren't waiting long for me." He added.

"You're our guest, Mr. Haddock, so you don't have to worry about that, and the food hasn't arrived yet, so you're early like the rest of us." Queen Elinor replied.

Hiccup smiled as he felt much better to hear that, but when Hiccup turned to face Merida, his eyes widened when he got a good look of what she was wearing. It was the exact same outfit that she wore in his dream with the veil and everything, so Hiccup quickly closed his eyes and shook his head to see if this was real or not. Once he opened his eyes, Hiccup knew it had been just a trick of his mind, since Merida was actually wearing a dark teal cotton dress with long sleeves, along with gold trimming and beading.

"Hiccup, are ye okay?" Merida asked, and hearing this caused Hiccup to realize that he'd been staring at the princess longer than usual, so he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Merida, I was just thinking about. . ." Hiccup trailed off as he tried to come up with a good reason for his silence that didn't include his dream.

"How would you like to be taught how to ride Toothless on your own?" Hiccup asked, and this had managed to get the attention of the princess' entire family.

When the redhead didn't respond right away, Hiccup assumed that Merida was only taking some time to think about his offer before she spoke to him again.

"I'd love to, Hiccup, but wouldn't Toothless mind? Ye've been his best friend for years, and I've only known the dragon for a couple of days." Merida replied.

"It doesn't matter how long you know him, Merida. If Toothless trusts you, which he does, then there's nothing that he won't do for you." Hiccup responded.

Instead of answering back, Merida turned to face her mother, while Hiccup turned to face her father, since he thought they deserved a say in the matter.

"Mr. Haddock, are ye sure it's a good idea, because we all know what happened when ye rode Angus for the first time in the forest." The King mentioned.

"Your Majesty, the only reason I got hurt is because I wasn't wearing my helmet, which I made sure to wear when I punished your sons." Hiccup reminded.

King Fergus chuckled as he remembered the airborne punishment Hiccup gave recently to the triplets, who only grimaced as the memory came to their mind too.

"I don't know, Mr. Haddock. Perhaps we should have a guard be around for the lesson, so that way, neither you nor our daughter will get hurt. " The King suggested.

As nice as it was for King Fergus to offer a chaperone, Hiccup didn't believe it was necessary, so he had to try a little harder to get consent from Merida's parents.

"Your Majesty, I promise that I won't let Merida out of my sight when she's on Toothless, and we'll make sure to fly not too fast the whole time." Hiccup persuaded.

"Elinor, what do ye think?" The King asked, as he turned to face his wife, who still hasn't given her thoughts on Hiccup's offer but wasn't going to wait on doing so.

"Well, Fergus, I do think it's quite risky, especially considering that Merida has never been on a dragon before, and there's Mr. Haddock's injury." The Queen replied.

A frown slowly made its way onto Hiccup's face, as he assumed that Queen Elinor wouldn't be giving her permission to let him teach Merida how to ride a dragon.

"However, I'm sure that Merida has spent enough time with Toothless to know that he's not dangerous and he must feel the same way about her." The Queen added.

The frown on Hiccup's face was soon replaced with a smile, as he felt happy to hear Merida's mother call Toothless by his name, and not as 'Mr. Haddock's dragon'.

"Mum, that's true. Toothless did listen to me when I told him to stay in the forest while I brought Hiccup here so he could be treated for his injury." Merida revealed.

The smile on Hiccup's face grew even bigger from knowing that Toothless trusted Merida enough to let her take Hiccup somewhere and wait until they both returned to him. At this point, Hiccup couldn't understand why the King and Queen were even hesitant if they felt safe near Toothless and could trust him to be around their daughter. Hiccup got to learn how to ride Merida's horse for the first time, and it would also probably be the last time, so it was only fair that Merida learned how to ride Toothless too.

"If the other clans find out that dragons are real and they're not dangerous creatures, then it's possible they'll form an alliance with Hiccup's village." Merida predicted.

Queen Elinor's eyes widened a little as a smile grew on her lips from what her daughter just said, and she knew this meant Merida was taking her lessons more seriously. Their kingdom's had an established alliance with Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall for decades now, so who's to say that Berk shouldn't have one with those clans too? Each of the three clans were always able to stay well protected with the men being strong fighters, but they could become much stronger if they had dragons on their side.

"You have a good point there, Merida, it won't be good to keep this from the clans, and I'm sure they'd want to know all about Berk's dragons too." The Queen said.

"So. . .does that mean I can learn how to ride a dragon?" Merida asked eagerly, as she was hoping that her mother would finally give her permission to let her do it.

"We already have proof that Mr. Haddock's became well enough to fly with Toothless, and I can't think of any other reason why you shouldn't." Queen Elinor replied.

"Can you, Fergus?" The Queen asked, but not before she turned to face her husband, who took a bit of time to think of why Merida should be forbidden to ride a dragon.

"I've got nothin', dear." King Fergus answered, and a smile appeared on Merida's face, as she knew what that meant, and it got even wider from what she heard next.

"Okay, Mr. Haddock, ye can teach our girl how to ride a dragon." The King declared while facing Hiccup, whose smile became more wide than it has ever been in his life.

Just as Hiccup opened his mouth to express his gratitude, the boy saw King Fergus hold up a hand, which meant there was more that Merida's father wanted to tell him.

"I only have one condition, Mr. Haddock, and it's ye start the lessons tomorrow, so that way, the three of ye will be well-rested enough for them." King Fergus informed.

At first, Hiccup was a little confused when the King said three, but then he realized the Scottish royal was referring to Toothless as well, and he had to agree with the man. The Night Fury had already gone through a exhilarating race with Merida's horse and treated her brothers to a hilarious punishment above the castle, so rest was definitely much-needed for the dragon too. Hiccup gave a nod in agreement to King Fergus, and then he turned to face Merida, since there was something that he wanted to go over with her before their dinner arrived.

"Well, Merida, I think Toothless has done enough flying for today, so how about we start the lessons after breakfast tomorrow, if that's not too early." Hiccup suggested.

"No, Hiccup, that's not too early for me, but I just have to do the lessons with my Mum first, and then we can do yer ridin' lesson, so is that okay with ye?" Merida asked.

"Of course it's okay, Merida." Hiccup responded with a smile, but before he could anything else to her, a group of about four servants came out through the kitchen doors.

In each hand, two of them were holding a large plate that held meat of different kinds, such as chicken and steak, while the other two held a large plate of vegetables.

"I hope you're a fan of meat, Mr. Haddock," Queen Elinor said, as all of the servants each brought their plate down on the table. "That's usually what we have for dinner."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, meat has always been a food the Vikings eat in my village, so it's not going to be a problem here." Hiccup replied to the Queen's delight.

The smile on Hiccup's face began to fade away as he noticed no barrels full of fish had come out for Toothless, and he knew the dragon was practically starving by now. Just as Hiccup opened his mouth to tell this to Merida's parents, he noticed two more servants coming out from the kitchen, and they were carrying something quite heavy. It was a large barrel meant specifically for Toothless, and the Night Fury licked his lips as soon as both of the servants dropped the barrel next to him and opened it up.

Toothless didn't even bother to wait until the servants had walked away from the barrel before devouring the feast inside, which caused each servant's eyes to widen. The two servants quickly looked down to check if either of their hands had been bitten off, and they let out a huge sigh of relief to see that none of their hands were gone. Merida and Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle for a bit as they watched this happen, but they eventually brought their attention back to all the plates of food on the table.

"So, we just take what we want?" Hiccup asked, as he picked up a fork, and even though he was probably right, he still wanted to be sure from the Scottish royals.

"That's right, Mr. Haddock, so whatever food you'd like to have in your meal, you can just take it from the plate it's on, and put in on yours." Queen Elinor explained.

Hiccup smiled as he went ahead and used his fork to take a couple of chicken legs from one plate, and a piece of steak from another, since he's never tried it before.

"Ye must be pretty hungry right now, huh?" Merida inquired, as she noticed all the food that was now on Hiccup's plate, and the Viking quickly made a sheepish grin.

"I haven't had anything to eat since this morning, so yeah, I'm pretty hungry." Hiccup responded sarcastically, before using a knife to cut into the steak on his plate.

Merida was about to say something when she noticed that Hiccup was having trouble cutting into his steak, so she thought it was a good idea to give him some help.

"Ye're never goin' to eat that steak if you cut it that way," Merida said, and she gently took the fork out from Hiccup's hand and stabbed its prongs deep into the steak.

"If ye don't keep the steak completely still with a fork, then it'll just keep movin, and you'll never get to cut it." Merida explained, while she made a gesture to the meat.

"Try cuttin' it now." Merida instructed, and Hiccup didn't hesitate to do just that, and to the young Viking's relief, he had finally managed to cut a proper slice of steak.

"Yes, it worked!" Hiccup shouted excitedly as he pumped a fist in the air at the exact same time, but he soon realized he just used the hand that was next to Merida.

Hiccup quickly turned his head to see if he hit Merida by accident, and he let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw that the princess wasn't rubbing any side of her face. Hiccup was even more relieved to hear Merida giggle a bit, which meant she wasn't the least bit upset that he almost hit her from his excitement of cutting his steak. Hiccup couldn't help but eventually join Merida, since he could definitely see the humor in what he just did, and so they laughed in unison for the next few minutes.

Once they were done laughing, Merida and Hiccup both returned to eating their meal, as they didn't bother to notice the looks her parents and brothers had on their faces. It was hard for the King and Queen not to smile from the behavior they saw happen between their daughter and Hiccup, and they had to admit that it was a little cute. As for the triplets themselves, they were giggling just like their sister had been, but because they thought Hiccup's reaction to cutting his steak properly was still funny.

"Merida, thanks for the help," Hiccup said, before he started to cut another piece of steak on his own this time. "Don't worry, I think that I can take it from here."

"That's good to know, Hiccup, and I'm glad that I could help ye out." Merida replied as she took her own knife, and began to cut some chicken off from its leg.

For the next few minutes, Hiccup, along with Merida and her family ate their food in silence, but this didn't go for Toothless, since he'd already finished his meal. Luckily for all the humans sitting at the table, the Night Fury didn't feel a need to jump on top of it and eat more food, considering he felt full from all of that fish. Hiccup had only eaten a few more bites of steak and chicken from his plate when he remembered King Fergus saying that he would tell story when it was dinnertime. Since it was dinnertime right now, Hiccup didn't see any reason why he shouldn't remind the King about this, since he was genuinely interested to hear the man's story.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty," Hiccup asked, and he made sure to put down his fork first before facing the King, who brought his head up to look at the Viking.

Queen Elinor knew that Hiccup wasn't referring to her since she noticed that he was looking at her husband, so she continued to eat the meal in front of her.

"You said earlier today that you'd tell the story of how you lost your leg to that demon bear at dinnertime, and since it's dinnertime right now," Hiccup reminded.

King Fergus' eyes widened as he realized that he did say that earlier, and a smile soon appeared on his face as he was happy about getting to tell the story again.

"Ye sure that ye want me to tell the story now, Mr. Haddock, cuz' I should warn ye that ye might lose your appetite and not finish your meal." The King informed.

Hiccup took this as a sign that King Fergus always liked to make his stories sound as violent as possible, and Hiccup didn't feel quite full from his dinner just yet.

"If you don't mind, Your Highness, could you please wait on telling the story, and I still want to hear it, I just would like to finish my meal first." Hiccup requested.

Hiccup hoped that the King wouldn't be upset about having to delay his story a little bit longer, but it didn't seem that way when Merida's father nodded his head.

"Don't worry, Mr. Haddock, I've told the Mor'du story practically hundreds of times, so I don't mind waitin' until ye're done with your dinner." King Fergus replied.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hiccup said, before returning to eat his meal, but took his time chewing the steak and chicken, since he believed there wasn't any rush.

Eventually, Hiccup started to wonder if he should make his own story sound more violent, since he knew violence all too well when dragons used to be his enemies. Hiccup decided to hold off on thinking more about that until he finished his meal, because losing his appetite was the last thing that he wanted to happen right now. Another thing that Hiccup certainly didn't want to happen was for him to feel sick, throw up, and possibly risk causing Merida and her family to do the same thing.

Hiccup assumed the Scottish royals wouldn't lose their appetite from hearing the King's story, because like the man said earlier, his family's heard it many times already. Even though he hadn't decided yet on whether or not to make his story more violent, Hiccup thought it was best to wait on telling his story until everyone else had finished their meal. For the next several minutes, Hiccup, Merida, along with her parents and her brothers ate their food in silence until Hiccup was finally finished with his meal, while everybody else were almost done with theirs.

"Okay, Your Majesty," Hiccup said, but not before facing the King first. "I've finished my dinner, so now you can tell me that great story of yours." He added.

Even though he still had some food left on his own plate, King Fergus thought it wouldn't be a problem to continue eating and tell his story at the same time.

"Trust me, Mr. Haddock, ye'll love this story so much, ye'll be beggin' me to tell it for a second time!" King Fergus bragged before turning to face his daughter.

"I know that ye love the story, Merida, but I'd appreciate it if you don't interrupt and tell any part of it yerself, especially my favorite part." The King requested.

"I promise that I won't interrupt yer story, Dad, not even once." Merida said genuinely, while giving her father the most sincere look that she could ever make.

A smile immediately appeared on King Fergus' face, as he felt relieved that Merida didn't even complain about not getting to tell any part of his Mor'du story.

"At least not this time." Merida whispered as she covered her mouth with one hand, and hoped that her father hadn't been able to hear what she said just now.

Luckily for Merida, the King didn't quickly turn his head to give her a frown, a glare, or even a look of suspicion, and this caused Merida to quietly sigh in relief.

"Dear, is it okay if I tell the story now?" King Fergus asked while facing his wife. "If yer meal's not finished, then I don't mind waitin' a little bit longer." He added.

"That's okay, Fergus, I've eaten plenty of food already, so I'd suggest that you don't keep Mr. Haddock waiting any longer to hear your story." Queen Elinor replied.

The King went back to smiling again now that he knew his wife's appetite was satisfied, which meant that he didn't have to worry about whether she was full or not. King Fergus believed that it wasn't necessary to even ask his triplet sons, since they have heard his Mor'du story while still eating their meal many times in the past. Now that each and every member of his family, along with their guest and his dragon had their attention focused on him, the King finally began to tell his most famous tale.

"Then, out of nowhere came the biggest bear ye've ever seen! His hide was littered with the weapons of fallen warriors, his face scarred, with one dead eye." King Fergus said, as he described Mor'du.

Even though his tale was almost over, King Fergus couldn't help but make an occasional glance at Merida as he still believed that she would interrupt at any time.

"I drew my sword, and. . .whoosh!" The King exclaimed with a swipe of his hand." One swipe, my sword shattered, then chomp! My leg was clean off! Down the monster's throat it went!"

Despite the fact Hiccup was truly enjoying the story from Merida's father, he thought that no part of it was really violent enough for him to throw up or even feel sick in his stomach.

"Mor'du has never been seen since," King Fergus continued with his voice no more than a whisper. "He's roomin' the wilds even now, waitin' for his chance to finish the job!"

If Hiccup hadn't heard Merida's story, then he would've been a little worried about being out in the woods, but he didn't have to worry at all when he had Toothless around.

"So, Mr. Haddock, what'd ye think of my story? Did ye like it?" The King asked curiously, and he really wanted to know Hiccup's opinion since the boy had just heard his story for the first time.

"Yes, I really liked it, Your Majesty, and I'd be lying if I said that your story didn't make me feel the slightest bit scared of bears from now on." Hiccup responded sincerely.

"Well, Mr. Haddock, you don't need to be scared of bears, because they're usually friendly unless provoked, but Mor'du definitely wasn't friendly." The Queen informed.

"I can understand why, since that demon bear had the spirit of a power-hungry prince, but I'm sure that he would've been no match for Toothless here." Hiccup bragged.

"Isn't that right, bud?" Hiccup asked, but not before he turned his head and brought it down to face his best friend, who gave his answer with a snort while giving a nod.

"Yer dragon takin' on Mor'du? I would've loved to see that happen, but sadly it won't, because as ye know, my Mum already took good care of him." Merida mentioned.

"Actually, dear, I believe it was one of those tall stones that took good care of Mor'du by crushing him to his death, I only pushed him into it." Queen Elinor reminded.

"Still, ye did a great job of pushin' Mor'du' into that stone, Mum, despite the fact ye were a bear at the time, even though that did help ye out." Merida complimented.

"Why, thank you, Merida." The Queen replied while facing her daughter, and a smile eventually appeared on the woman's face as the memory returned to her mind.

Even though she didn't completely enjoy her time as a bear, Elinor believed that the one good thing that came out of it was her and Merida spending time together. If Merida hadn't given her that cake, then they never would've had the time to mend their bond, just as the witch had told them to do when they went to her cottage. Elinor was quite sure that if their bond wasn't mended, then she probably wouldn't have allowed a dragon to stay in the castle, so it seems like she has come so far.

"Oh, Hiccup, I almost forgot! Now ye can finally tell us the story of how ye and Toothless became friends!" Merida reminded while having an excited tone in her voice.

For the second time tonight, Hiccup had a wide smile on his face, and Merida couldn't help but giggle when she saw it, since she genuinely thought it was a little cute.

"I guess that I don't have to worry about anyone losing their appetite, since you've all finished your meal." Hiccup replied, which got Merida and her family laughing.

Hiccup wasn't trying to make a joke out of what he just said, but he couldn't resist joining in and chuckling himself, because he actually thought it was a little funny. After his chuckles were all done, Hiccup waited until everyone else had finished their own laughter, and luckily, he only had to wait several seconds until that happened. Once all of the Scottish royals at the table turned to give their undivided attention to him, Hiccup finally began to tell his own story, but not without clearing his throat first.

Even though he could've went on forever with his story, Hiccup reminded himself that Merida, along with her brothers and their parents had to go to bed at some point. Hiccup did his best to tell as much as he could, but also keep his story as short as possible, so that none of the Scots sitting around him would end up disappointed. The way Hiccup had done that was by keeping the focus of the story on mostly him and Toothless while barely mentioning anyone else, such as his father and friends.

"So that's how not only me and Toothless became best friends, but how dragons and Vikings got to live together in peace on Berk." Hiccup said, finishing his story.

When none of the Scottish royals instantly spoke up, Hiccup assumed they didn't like his story, but that changed as all of them quickly gave him a round of applause.

"That was a very good story, Mr. Haddock!" Queen Elinor praised while clapping her hands at the same time. "Actually, it was better than good, it was great" She added.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and that really means a lot, considering I'm not much of a storyteller, and I'm glad to know that you all enjoyed my story." Hiccup replied.

"I have to say, the two of ye were very brave to take on a dragon that size, and ye were also quite lucky to even come out of that battle alive." The King complimented.

"I guess we were, Your Majesty, and I suppose that losing half a leg is much better than dying, and that way, it makes me and Toothless now even." Hiccup declared.

"Wait, Hiccup, what do ye mean ye two are now even?" Merida inquired, since she really wanted to know what Hiccup meant, but she felt confident he would tell her.

Even though he was definitely sure that Merida and her family wouldn't enjoy hearing about it, the last thing that Hiccup wanted to do was keep a secret from them all.

"Toothless may have been able to save me from the flames by wrapping me in his wings, but he couldn't do that without grabbing one of my legs first." Hiccup revealed.

"In other words, yer dragon had to bite one of them, and obviously, it was yer left leg?" Merida asked, and instead of saying a word to the princess, Hiccup just nodded.

"If I may ask, Mr. Haddock, how do you know that Toothless bit your leg off, like are you sure that your leg didn't catch fire from the explosion?" The Queen inquired.

"Your Majesty, I wouldn't say that Toothless bit my leg off completely, he just had to bite into it deep enough that my leg had to be amputated later." Hiccup explained.

"How long were ye out for, Hiccup?" Merida asked. "I mean, ye must have needed a lot of time to recover after going through that battle and amputation." She added.

"To be honest, Merida I'm not really sure; I guess I didn't ask anyone because I've never been curious, but I was probably out for a week or two." Hiccup responded.

"Even though he saved your life, Mr. Haddock, you weren't upset that you had to take on a new form of walking because Toothless bit your leg?" Queen Elinor asked.

"No, Your Majesty, I wasn't upset at all because it actually brought me and Toothless much closer, with both of us now having the same condition." Hiccup confessed.

The Queen's eyes widened as she felt truly impressed that Hiccup would choose to stay friends with a dragon, even after knowing this dragon was responsible for the loss of his left foot. Hiccup wasn't exactly proud of his prosthetic, but it was a meaningful loss. Accidental by Toothless' teeth or even his claws, but it was something that made the two of them match. Not only that, it enabled Hiccup to understand his friend better than ever. Every second of pain and disability was bearable and worth it, as long as he always had his buddy right by his side.

"I'm glad there isn't any bad blood between ye and yer dragon over yer leg, Mr. Haddock, but if ye don't mind, there's a question I'd like to ask." King Fergus notified.

"Sure, Your Majesty," Hiccup said, but not before turning his head to face Merida's father on the other side of the dinner table first. "What is it?" He asked curiously.

"When my daughter told ye about Elinor bein' a bear, did she mention that our kingdom and the other clans were threatened by Northern Invaders?" The King asked.

"Yes, she did, Your Majesty, so was that the question you wanted to ask me?" Hiccup inquired, as he quickly started to wonder why King Fergus had brought this up.

"No, Mr. Haddock, what I wanted to ask ye is whether yer tribe was ever attacked by the same people who attacked my kingdom and the other clans?" The King asked.

The Scottish royal kept quiet as he let Hiccup take a moment to think of any enemies that his tribe's had in the past, or any enemies that his father's told him about. There were the Meatheads and the Bog-Burglars, but neither of those tribes had any sort of conflict with Berk since they've been having dragon problems of their own. Ever since Hiccup and Toothless had ended the war with dragons five years ago, many tribes all across the Barbaric Archipelago became allies with the Hairy Hooligans.

"No, Your Majesty, my tribe's only been attacked by dragons, but that's when they used to be a bit of a problem for us and every other nearby tribe." Hiccup answered.

"Ye should consider yer entire tribe lucky, Mr. Haddock, because those Invaders would've had Scotland forever if I didn't bring the clans together." King Fergus replied.

"I don't think Berk was completely fortunate, Your Majesty, since the dragons used to steal our food, but I'm glad that doesn't happen anymore." Hiccup responded.

Hiccup suddenly remembered that he never did ask the King why he brought up the Northern Invaders, and the Viking couldn't see why he shouldn't ask right now.

"If you don't mind me asking, Your Majesty, why did you bring this up, and I'm not saying you shouldn't have, I'm just curious to find out why." Hiccup requested.

"We may have fought them with the other clans, but we also drove them away, and a lot of them were still alive when they left our kingdom." King Fergus revealed.

Hiccup was starting to believe that these Northern Invaders might have been warriors that came from numerous different lands, since Merida's father did say that he had to join with the other three clans if they were so many of them. All of a sudden, Hiccup began to focus on one fact in particular he heard over and over from the King; these warriors had come from the North, and that's exactly where Berk and many other tribes were located. Could it be possible that the Northern Invaders who attacked DunBroch and the other clans in Scotland happened to be Hiccup's father and the rest of his own tribe?


	9. Bare Night, Cute Morning

"Are you alright, Mr. Haddock?" Queen Elinor asked, as she started to believe that something was wrong when she noticed Hiccup had a frown on his face at the moment.

Hearing this question had caused Hiccup's train of thought about his tribe possibly being the Northern Invaders to stop as he quickly brought his head up to face the Queen.

"I'm okay, Your Majesty, and I was just thinking about how fortunate you and your whole family are to still be alive after those Northern Invaders came here." Hiccup fibbed.

"Yes, we are, Mr. Haddock, and I'd say that we are fortunate enough that they never came back and let our kingdom and the other clans live in peace." Queen Elinor replied.

Hiccup was about to say something when all of a sudden, he let out a big yawn while making sure not to hit Merida by accident as he stretched out one of his arms in the air. He instantly made sure to cover his mouth with one of his hands so that none of the triplets could catch a glimpse inside of his mouth and vomit for the second time today. The Viking didn't want the King and Queen to assume that he's become bored from what they told him, and he was truly tired, so he thought it was necessary to tell them.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't yawn just now because I was bored or anything, but because I'm actually quite tired, so I should probably get some sleep." Hiccup revealed.

"We'll be doin' that too, Mr. Haddock, since we usually go to bed after dinnertime, so one of the servants will escort you and Toothless to your room." King Fergus informed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hiccup responded, and just after those words left his mouth, a group of four servants arrived to collect all the empty plates from the dinner table.

Two more servants came out the kitchen doors to pick up the barrel used to hold Toothless' fish, because it was still quite heavy even though it had no more fish inside of it.

"Could one of you escort Mr. Haddock and his dragon to their room after you've put that barrel back?" The Queen requested, while facing the servants who held the barrel.

One of the servants nodded in agreement to Queen Elinor before the two of them followed the other four servants as they carried the empty barrel back into the kitchen.

"Wait, Mum!" Merida shouted as she got up from her chair before facing her mother. "I know where Hiccup's room is, so could I bring him and Toothless back?" She asked.

The Queen couldn't think of a reason why her daughter shouldn't do it, since Merida didn't need an escort to find her room unlike her brothers, who always needed one so they didn't get lost.

"I don't see why not, Merida, but I have one condition. You return to your own room after you've brought them back to theirs and said goodnight." Queen Elinor requested.

"Yes, Mum," Merida responded as she nodded in agreement before turning to face Hiccup. "Follow me, dragon boy, and I promise I won't get both of ye lost." She added.

Hiccup couldn't resist from letting out a chuckle as he heard Merida's nickname for him, and he got up from his chair, but quickly turned around to face both of her parents.

"Your Majesty, thank you for not just the meal tonight, but for allowing me to tell you and your family all about how dragons got to live in peace with Vikings." Hiccup said.

"You're our guest, Mr. Haddock, so it was our pleasure, and the same will go for every other meal that you'll have with us until you and Toothless leave." The Queen replied.

Hiccup didn't stop a smile from appearing on his face after hearing Merida's mother say that, as it made him look forward to the next time that he shared a meal with them.

"That's good to know, Your Majesty." Hiccup responded kindly, before him and Toothless turned to follow Merida as they left the Great Hall and walked through the hallway.

The Viking and the princess stayed quiet as they walked, but since Hiccup didn't want things to be awkward between them, he thought it was best for him to break the ice.

"Merida, I have a question," Hiccup said, and he waited until the redhead faced him before speaking again. "It might be silly to ask you this now, but did you like my story?"

"I loved yer story, Hiccup, and as much as I enjoy hearin' my Dad's stories, it was nice to listen to a completely new story tonight, so thank ye for that." Merida answered.

"Your welcome, Merida, and as luck would have it, I've got a lot more stories to tell your family, so you'll get to hear something new for the next few days." Hiccup revealed.

Even though Merida didn't say a word, Hiccup could tell that the Scottish royal was very happy to hear what he just said, since he saw a smile instantly appear on her face. Hiccup was almost tempted to ask Merida if she wanted to hear another story before she went to bed, but he decided not to, believing that she must have been pretty tired. The dragon rider was sure that one of the servants or even Merida's parents would stop by her room later, so Hiccup didn't want them to panic and assume she'd gone missing.

"I guess ye won't mind tellin' one of those stories durin' breakfast tomorrow, because Mum and Dad won't let us go outside without eatin somethin' first." Merida informed.

"Don't worry, Merida, I'm okay with that, since I don't think either me or Toothless could actually go through the morning without getting something to eat." Hiccup replied.

"Isn't that right, bud?" Hiccup asked, but not before turning his head and bringing it down a little to face Toothless, who gave his answer by snorting a happy 'yes!' to Hiccup.

Merida couldn't help but giggle from seeing the cute interaction between Toothless and his best friend, but she just hoped that she wasn't loud enough for them to hear her.

"Well, Hiccup, here's yer room," Merida declared while motioning Hiccup and his dragon to a door right next to them. "I have a good memory, so this can't be the wrong one."

The princess kept quiet as she let Hiccup go ahead and open up the door to take a look for himself, and she was relieved when he turned to face her with a smile on his face.

"You've got a good memory, Merida, this is definitely my room, because I remember Toothless and I being in here earlier today, so thanks for being our escort." Hiccup said.

Merida almost felt like bragging, but she knew it wasn't the right time for that, and even if she'd done it, then she probably would've ruined her conversation with Hiccup.

"Yer welcome, Hiccup, and I'm glad that I could help you out," Merida said, but not before she took a few steps aside to let Toothless go inside too. "Goodnight." She added.

"Goodnight, Merida." Hiccup responded while smiling, then he slowly closed the door, and turned around without stopping to see if Merida already left to return to her room.

What Hiccup didn't know was that Merida never did leave, and for some reason, she decided to stay and watch both him and Toothless through a small window in the door. Merida knew this was something that she'd definitely be scolded for if her mother had caught her, but she didn't feel like leaving Hiccup just yet, and she didn't know why. Her and Hiccup would get to spend more time together when he taught her how to ride a dragon tomorrow, and he was staying with her and her family for a few more days.

The redhead wasn't planning to make this into a hobby, so she decided it would be just a one time thing, and she brought her attention back to the Viking in his bedroom. Merida didn't focus on Toothless so much, because the dragon was now laying down on the floor, so that meant Toothless was either already sleeping, or about to fall asleep. The princess had been expecting Hiccup to do the same as his best friend and get into bed right away, but instead, he did something that left Merida frozen as it happened.

Hiccup's long, thin, and facile fingers grasped the edge of his tunic, and in one swift, fluid motion, he lifted the piece of clothing over his head and dropped it on a nearby shelf. Up until now, Merida had no interest whatsoever in seeing what Hiccup's chest looked like, but seeing it now, her heart stopped, her jaw dropped, and she could do absolutely nothing but stare. From the waist up, it was all pale, freckle-dusted skin, with sharp bones, flat planes of muscle, and his stomach was flat and ribbed, every bit as tight and lean as his back.

Merida presumed that Hiccup wasn't a fighter, because he didn't have the bulk that other young men must have possessed in his village, but Hiccup was athletic in his own right. Riding a dragon for the past several years must have kept Hiccup in shape, and Merida didn't think it'd be very appropriate to ask him if that was true during his stay here. Merida quickly stopped herself from letting out a loud groan as she watched Hiccup get into his bed, which meant Merida no longer had a good view of his half naked form.

Now that the Viking was getting some much needed sleep just like his dragon, Merida believed it was time for her to return to her own bedroom and do the exact same thing. As she walked away from Toothless and Hiccup's bedroom door, Merida started to worry that she might bump into either her parents or one of the servants in the castle. Fortunately for the redhead, she didn't run into anybody familiar through the hallways, so when Merida was finally back inside her room, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

The first thing Merida decided to do was change, and it made perfect sense, considering she never preferred to sleep in a dress overnight unless she was out in the woods. Merida didn't need to worry about her room not having enough light, because there was a warm, lit fire in the fireplace, which must have been done by one of the servants. She would've remembered starting a fire in her own room, so Merida would make sure to thank the servant in the morning, but also get her parents to find the servant first.

Without further ado, Merida changed out of her long-sleeved dark teal dress and placed it on a nearby shelf, then she put on a white dress that she usually wore for bedtime. The last thing Merida needed to do now before going to sleep was put out the fire, and she was able to do that by using a pitcher filled with water that a servant left for her. Once she finally got into bed, Merida did her best to try and keep her mind focused on the riding lesson she'd be having with Hiccup tomorrow, and not on the young man's impressive physique.

Hiccup felt quite relieved that he didn't experience another major headache when he woke up, and it must have meant his head was healing from his injury just yesterday. What made sleeping last night so much better for Hiccup was definitely not being in his flight suit, but he wasn't upset with Merida's family for not removing it after tending to his injury, since none of them knew how, and he had been unconscious at the time. Once he sat up in bed, a smile appeared on Hiccup's face as he remembered that he'd give Merida a riding lesson with Toothless today, and this also caused him to feel a lot more excited. It wasn't just because Toothless would have a chance to literally spread his wings and get up in the air, but it could also give the Scottish royals a good reason to have dragons around their home more often.

If Merida's family was able to convince the other three clans that dragons were real and not a dangerous threat, then three new alliances would be formed with Berk in the near future. His father was probably still upset with him for taking off despite leaving a note, but that was sure to change after Stoick heard how his son's skills as a diplomat had worked wonders on the people of Scotland. Even though Hiccup felt more happy just thinking about it, he knew that he really shouldn't get ahead of himself, so for now, he could only hope that Merida's lesson would be a complete success. Hiccup figured that a servant would soon stop by his room to escort him and Toothless to the Great Hall for breakfast, but he thought it was a good idea to get dressed now.

Hiccup pulled away the blanket and got himself out of bed, but not before picking up his prosthetic leg from the spot where he left it on the floor, and attached it to his left leg. He already noticed that Toothless was still asleep, so Hiccup decided not to make a sound and wake him up by hopping over to the shelf where he left his shirt last night and putting it on. All of a sudden, Hiccup realized that it wouldn't have been appropriate of him to just head for breakfast without getting washed up first, but he assumed that a servant would escort him to a bathroom so he could do that. Hiccup almost felt like making a facepalm as he could just use the bowl of water that was on top on the shelf in his room, but he couldn't help but wonder if the water was actually clean and fresh.

It must have been, since this was Toothless and Hiccup's room, and it definitely would've been rude of Merida's family to have a servant leave a bowl of dirty water for them. Hiccup took a closer look at the water inside the bowl, and he could easily see his own reflection, so the Viking considered it to be proof that the water wasn't contaminated. Hiccup put his hands together to form a cup before bringing them into the bowl's water while leaning his head closer to the bowl since he didn't want to get the shelf wet. In only a few seconds, Hiccup scooped up the water and he splashed his face with it, and he repeated this routine two more times before taking his hands out of the bowl.

After he'd done that, Hiccup realized that he needed something to wipe his hands clean from the water, but it didn't take him long to think of something that could help. Luckily, Toothless wasn't laying down on the fur rug, so Hiccup quickly hopped over to it and rubbed his hands on the rug, but not before getting down on one knee first. Right when he was standing on his foot, Hiccup saw that he wasn't wearing his fur boot, so he quietly searched the room until he finally found it and put it on right away. Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if Merida was already awake too, and it made him curious if she'd stop by his room soon and ask to hear one of his stories he promised her.

Before he had the chance to think about that more, Hiccup heard a knock at the door, and he could easily see through its window that it wasn't Merida on the other side. Hearing this had also caused Toothless' sleep to come to an end, but Hiccup wasn't too upset about that happening, since the dragon was going to wake up sooner or later. Hiccup made sure not to step on Toothless' tail with either foot by accident as he walked over to the door, but not before playfully rubbing a hand on top of the dragon's head.

"Good morning, Mr. Haddock," A servant said with a cheerful tone in her voice, but waiting until Hiccup opened the door completely. "How did you sleep?" She asked.

"My head's feeling much better, so I slept very well last night, and thanks for asking. I guess you've come to escort us to the Great Hall for breakfast?" Hiccup inquired.

"Yes, Mr. Haddock, and I assume that the princess is already there, since the Queen said that she would go to her daughter's room and wake her up." The servant replied.

"Well, me and Toothless are already awake, so we can follow you there right now, but I'll just check and see if Toothless isn't still laying on the floor." Hiccup responded.

When Hiccup turned around, he quickly saw that Toothless wasn't laying on the floor anymore, and the dragon was now standing on all fours and ready for breakfast.

"It's time for breakfast, bud." Hiccup declared happily before he walked out of the room, but Hiccup waited until his best friend was out too before closing the door shut.

Toothless and Hiccup stayed unusually quiet as they followed the servant to the Great Hall, and this was actually because they were both thinking about different things. The Night Fury wondered if he'd get to enjoy another barrel of his favorite fish, while Hiccup was hoping that Merida would already be at the dinner table waiting for him. This caused Hiccup to start thinking of what story that he should tell Merida and her family, but it definitely had to be one that wouldn't make lose them their appetites.

By the time that they arrived at the Great Hall, the Viking had managed to have a good story in mind, and he quickly looked up to see if whether or not Merida was here too. To Hiccup's delight, there was a girl with curly red hair sitting at the table, and he knew it couldn't have been just one of the servants impersonating the princess for fun. Before he headed towards the table, Hiccup turned to face the servant, since it would've been rude to not thank her for escorting him and Toothless through the hallways.

"Thanks for bringing us here, ma'am, we really appreciate it." Hiccup told the servant while giving a smile, and the servant nodded and smiled back before leaving the room.

After expressing his gratitude to the servant, Hiccup went over to take a seat at the table as Toothless followed, then sat down on his hind legs right next to Hiccup's chair.

"Good morning, Mr. Haddock!" Queen Elinor said, but she waited until Hiccup was sitting down before greeting him. "The servant's probably asked you this already, but how did you sleep?" She asked.

"I slept very well, Your Majesty," Hiccup answered, then decided to tell the Queen another thing that he recently told the servant. "My head's feeling a lot better." He added.

"I'm happy to hear that, Mr. Haddock, but I hope you and Toothless are hungry, because our servants will be coming out with breakfast very soon." Queen Elinor informed.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we're very hungry," Hiccup replied before turning to face Merida, since he'd been wanted to talk to her too. "Good morning, Merida, how did you sleep?" He asked.

"I slept well, Hiccup, even though I usually like to sleep in, but Mum always tells me that a princess should rise with the sun, so I got up a while ago." Merida responded.

Hiccup had been able to notice that Merida didn't even look at him when she was talking, but before he could ask her if something was wrong, Merida's mother spoke up.

"Mr. Haddock, when Merida says sleep in, she means 'lolling about', but there's nothing wrong with me joining her long after the sun is in the sky." The Queen revealed.

"That's good to know, Your Majesty," Hiccup said kindly while facing Queen Elinor, then he turned to face her daughter. "Hey, Merida, are you upset with me?" He asked.

Merida still didn't bother to turn her head and look at Hiccup after hearing his question, but it did cause the rest of her family to look at him with confusion on their face.

"Mr. Haddock, now why would you possibly think Merida's upset with you?" The Queen inquired, as she became curious to also find out why Merida wouldn't look at him.

"Honesty, I don't know, Your Majesty, but I do know from past experience that if someone's not looking at me, then they're angry at me for some reason." Hiccup replied.

The last thing Merida wanted to happen right now was for Hiccup and her family to find out she saw Hiccup half-naked last night, so she quickly thought of a good excuse. Merida was also worried that if she did look at Hiccup, then she would begin fantasizing him without a shirt, and that would certainly make her dragon riding lesson awkward. All of a sudden, Merida was able to come up with a reason, but even though she really didn't want to lie to Hiccup, the princess didn't have anything else in mind to tell him.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup," Merida said, but not before she slowly turned her head to face him. "It's just I had a really bad dream last night, and ye were in it too." Merida fibbed.

"Really, Merida, because you seemed fine when I saw you this morning." Queen Elinor said, while not bothering to realize that her daughter wasn't directly speaking to her.

"Mum, I didn't want ye to be worried, and besides, it was actually a good dream too, since it had Toothless comin' to rescue Hiccup from Mor'du's clutches." Merida explained.

Although it hurt Merida inside to be lying to her mother, she didn't want the truth to get out, become a lot more embarrassed and have their mealtime become so awkward.

"I'm glad that you told us about it, Merida, and I appreciate that you didn't keep it a secret from us either, but you know that you can be always honest with us, right?" The Queen asked.

"Yes, Mum, I know," Merida answered, before turning to face Hiccup again. "I'm sorry for makin' ye think I was angry with ye, Hiccup, so can ye forgive me?" She asked.

Instead of saying of word right away, Hiccup took a hand off from the table and put it on Merida's shoulder, and the redhead did her best not to blush while looking at him.

"Of course I forgive you, Merida, and you should never be afraid to tell me anything, even if it's about a bad dream of me getting hurt by a demon bear." Hiccup replied.

Merida couldn't resist smiling that Hiccup wasn't upset with her at all, and she could tell from the sincere tone in his voice that he appreciated her being honest with him, even if it wasn't technically the real truth.

"Okay, Hiccup, from now on, if there's something that I want to tell ye, then I'll just tell ye right away, and I promise I won't keep it a secret from ye either." Merida declared.

The smile was on Hiccup's face grew bigger from what he just heard, and he was about to say something when a group of five servants had come out from the kitchen. Three of the servants were each carrying a large plate with food, while two of them carried a large barrel together, and Toothless licked his lips as he already knew it was meant for him. Toothless did his absolute best to wait until after the servants had carefully placed the barrel down on the floor and were a good distance away from it before he started his meal.

"All of it smells really good," Hiccup said, but until each servant put the plate of food they were holding down onto the table, and Hiccup quickly picked up a fork and knife.

One of the plates had a bunch of sunny side up eggs, while the second had groups of different meat, such as sausage and chicken, and the third had fruit and vegetables.

"We hope you enjoy your meal." The servants said in unison before all of them went back into the kitchen, and that's when Hiccup, Merida, and the rest of her family started picking which food they wanted to eat.

"Hey, Merida," Hiccup said while turning to face the princess, but not until he took a few sausages and eggs by using his fork and putting them onto his plate. "Do you mind telling me more about your dream?" He asked.

Merida's eyes widened as soon as she heard that question, considering that she wasn't expecting to give more detail about a dream that she didn't even have last night.

"Oh, no, I don't mind, Hiccup, but I probably think it should wait until after we've had our breakfast, because I don't want anyone to get sick hearin' it." Merida answered.

Merida couldn't help but wonder if she upset Hiccup with her reply, but when she saw a smile soon appear on his face, the redhead knew that the Viking wasn't angry at her.

"That's a good idea, Merida, and as much as I want to hear about your dream, I wouldn't want anyone to lose their appetite, so I don't mind waiting to hear it." Hiccup said.

Instead of letting out a huge sigh of relief, which she really wanted to make, Merida just smiled while nodding her head until Hiccup brought his attention back to his meal. For the next few minutes, everybody ate their meal in silence until Merida suddenly began thinking of what he should tell Hiccup when she described her 'dream' to him. It would be quite a challenge to make the tale as long as her story about how her bond with her mother became stronger, so Merida decided to keep it as short as possible.

"Hey, Hiccup?" Merida said, and she waited until Hiccup had turned to face her before speaking again. "I just want to let ye know that my dream wasn't long." She added.

"Merida, that's okay with me," Hiccup responded, but not before he swallowed the food in his mouth. "I won't even mind if the story's only a few minutes." He assured.

"In that case, Hiccup, I'll make sure to have my tale be as scary and entertainin' for ye as possible, but why don't ye tell a story for us after breakfast." Merida requested.

"Don't worry, Merida, I'm definitely going to do that." Hiccup replied, and once they returned to eating their meal, he began thinking of what story that he should tell them.

Hiccup already told the Scottish royals all about how dragons got to live in harmony with the Vikings of Berk, so it needed to be a new and completely different story this time. All of a sudden, Hiccup's eyes widened a bit as a story came to his mind, and he felt confident they'd enjoy it, considering there was plenty of action throughout the story. Even though it'd be a long story, Hiccup assumed that Merida wasn't in any sort of rush for them to head outside so he could teach her how to fly Toothless on her own.

When Hiccup took a glance at Merida, he easily noticed that she hadn't been eating her food in a fast pace, but was taking her time just like everybody else in her family. Hiccup believed that there wasn't any reason for him not to do the same, and when he glanced at Toothless, he saw that the dragon had already finished his meal and was lying down comfortably on the floor. The Viking was a little surprised that Toothless hadn't been so eager to leave the castle and spread his wings in the air, but the Night Fury was probably just taking a moment to let all of the fish he ate to be properly digested in his stomach.

"Hiccup?" Merida said, and this obviously caused Hiccup to swallow the food in his mouth and turn to face her again. "There's somethin' that I want to ask you." She added.

"What is it, Merida?" Hiccup inquired, and he was already curious to find out if whether her question would be about her dream, or one of the stories he promised to tell her.

"I know that ye're goin' to teach me how to fly Toothless, but I just want to know what are some of the things that I'm goin' to learn while I'm flying him." Merida inquired.

"Since it's your very first lesson, Merida, I'll teach you a few easy things, such as how to fly him in a gliding position, and how to turn him left and right." Hiccup answered.

It made Merida feel delighted to know about what she'll be experiencing in the lesson, since she hadn't been one for surprises ever since her mother had turned into a bear.

"Thanks for lettin' me know, Hiccup, because now I'm a lot more excited for the lesson." Merida said appreciatively while facing the Viking before returning to eat her meal.

"Your welcome." Hiccup replied with a smile on his face, then he went back to finishing the rest of the food that was on his plate, and made sure to take his time eating it.

After he was done with his meal, Hiccup looked around to see if anybody else was done too, but he was surprised to see that they were still taking bites of their breakfast. Hiccup was in no rush to either go outside or tell a story to Merida and her family, so he didn't really mind waiting for all the Scottish royals to be finished with their meal. It wasn't until he gently patted Toothless on the head that Hiccup realized he needed a drink to wash down all of the food he ate, but there wasn't any drinks on the table.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Hiccup said while being loud enough for him to be heard, and it seemed that did happen as Queen Elinor turned her head and looked at him.

"I've finished my meal, but I don't think the servants brought us any sort of drink to wash it down, so you don't mind if I head into the kitchen to get one?" Hiccup asked.

"That's not necessary, Mr. Haddock," The Queen said while putting down her fork and knife, then picked up a bell. "I can just have a servant do that for you." She added.

After saying this, Queen Elinor had rung the bell for a moment, and it was only a few seconds that passed before a servant had come out and stood in front of the Queen.

"Mr. Haddock's finished his meal, so can you please get him a drink?" Queen Elinor requested before turning to face Hiccup. "What kind of drink would you like?" She asked.

"It's the morning, so water will be just fine," Hiccup replied, and right after the words had left his mouth, the servant gave a nod to him before going back into the kitchen.

Half a minute went by until the servant appeared while carrying a wooden cup of fresh water this time, and she placed the cup gently right next to Hiccup's empty plate.

"Thank you." Hiccup said while smiling at the servant, who nodded before leaving again, and once she was gone, he picked up the cup in his hand and started drinking.

Hiccup didn't see the point in leaving some of the water in the cup, so that's why he drank all of it, but after he'd done that, the Viking suddenly felt very thirsty again. Just as he was about to inform the Queen about his thirst, he started wondering if Merida's mother wouldn't mind letting him use the bell to call for a servant himself. Queen Elinor wouldn't have to take a break from eating her breakfast to talk to either him or the servant, and Hiccup still believed that she didn't like to be bothered during a mealtime.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Hiccup said, and he waited until the Queen was looking at him before speaking again. "Would it be okay with you if I used that bell?" He asked.

"That's not necessary, Mr Haddock, you're our guest and I don't mind doing it for you, so I'm guessing that you'd like another cup of water, right?" Queen Elinor inquired.

Instead of saying a word, Hiccup just nodded his head, and so the Queen picked up and rang the bell, which led to another servant to appear in front of her once again.

"Mr. Haddock would like another cup of water, but I'm not too surprised, since he did have a big meal, so could you please bring him two cups?" Queen Elinor requested.

Hiccup was obviously touched that the Queen had asked the servant to return with not one, but two cups of water, so he thought it was necessary for him to thank her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Hiccup said, but not before the servant had already gone into the kitchen. "I know it's only two cups of water, but I appreciate it." He added.

"Your welcome, Mr. Haddock, and I'll have you know the rest of us are almost done with our meals, so you'll get to tell another story to us very soon." Queen Elinor informed.

Hearing this had suddenly caused Hiccup to remember the story he'd decided on to tell the Scottish royals and he felt quite relieved that he hadn't forgotten all about it.

"That's good to know, Your Majesty, and I'm sure that you and your family will love it because there's a lot of action in it." Hiccup revealed while having a smirk on his face.

Even though he was facing the Queen as he said that, Hiccup didn't notice that Merida had seen the smirk he made, and she couldn't help but blush again from seeing it.

"Well, I'm certain that Merida will be happy to hear it, because I know she loves to be told a story filled with action." Queen Elinor replied, while glancing at her daughter.

Merida's eyes quickly widened as she started to believe that her mother must have noticed her blushing, and she only hoped that her mother wouldn't tell that to Hiccup.

"Yes, Hiccup, she's right, and that explains why I always love to hear Dad's stories, but I'm still lookin' forward to hearin' another one of yers this time." Merida reminded.

Hiccup smiled at Merida since he was happy to hear that, and he didn't feel it was necessary to give a hint about his story considering that they'd finish their meal soon. It was Merida's triplet brothers who were done with their breakfast to Hiccup's surprise, and he was a little relieved that none of them put any more food on their plate. The next person to finish their meal was the Queen, who waited for her husband to finish his meal before taking the bell and ringing it for the third time that morning.

Not even five seconds had went by before a servant came out, but when she got a closer look at the empty plates on the table, she quickly went back into the kitchen. It wasn't long until she returned with four more servants and two of these women immediately went to work on picking up all the plates and utensils that were used. Another servant was also carrying a plate that had about six cups of fresh water, and each one must have been meant for Merida and every member in her family.

"Now that's what I call a good breakfast," Merida said as she carefully took a cup from off the plate before drinking some water. "Don't ye think so, Hiccup?" She asked.

"Yeah, Merida, and it'll be great for all of us to burn off that food when we go flying with Toothless, because I consider it to be a great form of exercise." Hiccup answered.

Merida couldn't resist thinking about the view she got of Hiccup's chest last night, as she was now sure her assumption that he got his physique from flying was correct.

"Ye know, Hiccup, I actually consider ridin' Angus to be a nice form of exercise too, because we're both outside and Angus can get to stretch his legs." Merida responded.

"Well, in that case, you should bring him along for when we leave for your flying lesson, it wouldn't be right to just leave him all alone in the stables." Hiccup suggested.

Instead of saying a word, Merida nodded her head while giving Hiccup a smile, not only because she thought it was a good idea, but it was definitely something that she would've said too.

"Alright, Hiccup, so I'll gonna ride Angus until we've found a spot that's right for the lesson, and after it's done, I'll ride him back here to the castle." Merida informed.

Hiccup wished that he could ask Merida to get Angus right now and meet him outside, but he knew there was still a story that he promised to tell her and her family.

"Merida, that sounds like a great plan, but for now, I think it's time for me to tell you all a story, especially one that I said would have a lot of action." Hiccup reminded.

Hiccup hadn't expected a reaction from anybody except Merida, so he was taken by surprise when each of her triplet brothers started cheering with their cups raised.

"Wow, I'm glad to know that the triplets are really excited for it, but should I wait until you've all finished your water, or do I have your attention now?" Hiccup asked.

Queen Elinor knew that she'd already washed down her own meal, so she quickly checked to see everyone else in her family had done the same thing before speaking.

"I don't see anybody with a cup in their hand, Mr. Haddock, and I'm sure that means we've finished our water now, so you can finally tell your story." The Queen replied.

Now that he was certain that everyone at the table was giving him their attention, Hiccup went ahead with his tale about an item he found that he called the Dragon Eye. Hiccup told himself that he couldn't have his story last too long, since he had a flying lesson to give Merida later today, so he decided to tell only half of the story for now. He started by talking about the Dragon Eye itself, and Hiccup didn't hesitate to give as many details about it as possible, such as what it looked like and all of its abilities.

Hiccup couldn't recall the last time that he even thought about the Dragon Eye, since it's been so long that he held it in his hands, and none of his friends bring it up either. The Viking went on to reveal and describe not just every dragon that he and Toothless discovered with the Dragon Eye, but also every dragon they found without using it. Hiccup remembered that he promised to tell Merida and her family lots of action in his story, so he told them about each encounter he had with the dragon hunters up until the time they met Queen Mala and her tribe of dragon worshippers at Caldera Cay.

"So. . .what'd you guys think?" Hiccup asked, but not before he quickly took a deep breath after talking for so long, and he was impressed with himself for doing it again.

Only a few seconds passed before the Scottish royals gave Hiccup a round of applause, with Queen Elinor clapping her hands and everyone else pumping their fist in the air.

"I'm glad to know that you all enjoyed it," Hiccup said, but waited until Merida and her family became quiet before speaking. "I think it's time for that lesson." He added.

Hiccup had been facing Merida when he said that, and the princess' eyes widened instantly while a smile came on her face as she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Ye have no idea how long I've been waitin' to hear ye say that, Hiccup!" Merida exclaimed as she got up from her chair. "I'll get Angus and then we can go." She added.

"Merida, hold on a minute." The Queen told her daughter, who made a frown right away after hearing that, and hoped that she wouldn't be asked to help in the kitchen.

"You and Mr. Haddock just had a big breakfast, so the two of you should at least wash up first, not to mention he should wear his flight suit too." Queen Elinor requested.

Merida didn't really see the point of washing up, considering that she wasn't much of a messy eater, and she had enough meals with Hiccup to know that he wasn't one.

"It's okay, Merida," Hiccup said, which caused the redhead to face him. "I'm sure that Toothless and Angus can wait a few more minutes until we leave, right?" He added.

Once she heard Hiccup say that, Merida started to think it wouldn't be so bad for them to wash up, and she didn't want to risk upsetting Hiccup by saying they shouldn't.

"On second thought, Hiccup, washin' up does seem like a good idea, but we could probably save time by doing that in the kitchen instead of our rooms." Merida suggested.

The Queen couldn't help but react in disbelief from how Merida changed her mood so suddenly, but she thought it was smart of her to suggest they wash up in the kitchen.

"Alright, Merida, after we've done that, you can go get Angus from the stables and wait for us outside while I go back to my room and put on my flight suit." Hiccup replied.

Merida gave a nod as she thought it was a good plan, and she waited until Hiccup was out of his own chair before walking with him and Toothless toward the kitchen doors. All the servants took notice of Merida and Hiccup when they came inside, and each servant's eyes widened a little from seeing Toothless, but they soon went back to work. They were worried that the dragon would walk around and possibly cause a mess, but to their relief, Toothless stayed right by the doors as Hiccup followed Merida to a big bowl of water.

Even though there had been a servant prepared to use that bowl, she quickly stepped aside to let the princess and her friend use it, since she believed it'd only be for a few minutes. What Hiccup and Merida didn't know was that all the servants were now secretly watching them, but they kept washing the plates, so neither of them would get suspicious. However, when they saw Hiccup be a gentleman and let Merida go first in washing up, they couldn't resist making an "aww' sound at the same time, which had been very loud.

This obviously caused the Viking and the redhead to bring their heads up and look at the servants, who quickly turned their heads away and focused on cleaning the dishes. Hiccup and Merida wondered about what it was that the servants saw that would have them make that sound, but they soon believed that they'd been looking at Toothless. He probably made one of his signature 'toothless' smiles' in order to to show the servants that he wasn't all dangerous and they didn't have to be afraid while he was here.

"It's good to know the servants aren't scared of Toothless anymore," Hiccup said before turning to face the dragon. "Thanks for making that face to them, bud." He added.

Instead of simply nodding his head, Toothless only tilted his head in confusion, which meant he really didn't know what kind of face that Hiccup was referring to exactly.

"C'mon, bud, you remember, it was the same face that you made after I ate part of that regurgitated fish and then I smiled to show you that I liked it." Hiccup reminded.

Toothless suddenly knew what Hiccup was talking about, while Merida and the servants became a little grossed out upon knowing that Hiccup ate something that's already been swallowed.

"I knew you remembered, Toothless, so please go ahead and make that face to them again, because I'm sure that Merida would even like to see it too." Hiccup requested.

All of the servants and Merida kept their eyes on Toothless and watched as the Night Fury retracted his teeth before making a gummy smile, which caused them to giggle. Even though this also got Hiccup to laugh too, he soon stopped as he realized that the first sound the servants made weren't giggles, which meant they hadn't seen Toothless' smile a few minutes ago. Hiccup was tempted to ask one of the servants right now and find out what it is they'd actually seen recently, but he didn't want to keep Merida waiting any longer for her flying lesson.

"That was a funny smile, Hiccup, so when was the first time that he made it?" Merida asked, but not before washing her hands and face with the water from the big bowl.

"About five years ago on the same night we began our friendship, and I'm surprised that I didn't mention it when I told you and your family the story." Hiccup answered.

"I think it's probably because all of us had to go to bed eventually, so ye couldn't have the story be too long, but I'm glad that ye did tell us a lot though." Merida replied.

Hiccup couldn't help but be amazed from hearing this, since he never told Merida the reason why he kept that story short, but he thought anyone else in her family could figure out why.

"Well, Merida, I definitely would've told all of you about that if we had more time, but I'll make sure to tell your parents and brother when we have dinner." Hiccup informed.

"I know my family will really love to see Toothless' smile later today, but for now, how about we focus on the flying lesson ye'll be giving me in the forest?" Merida asked.

Instead of saying a word, Hiccup just smiled and nodded his head to Merida before washing his hands in the bowl, then they left the kitchen with Toothless right behind them. Once they were in the hallway, Merida started to wonder if Hiccup remembered where his room was in the castle, because she wasn't sure that he did, since every room to each door looked exactly the same. Although she felt quite eager to go outside and get Angus from the stables, Merida actually didn't mind taking just a few minutes to go through the castle and show Hiccup to his room.

"Hey, Hiccup?" Merida said, and she waited until Hiccup turned to face her before speaking again. "Ye wouldn't mind if I led you and Toothless to your room?" She asked.

"Of course not, but are you sure that you don't want to get Angus right now, because it probably won't take too long to find my room all on my own." Hiccup responded.

"I think that Angus can wait a few more minutes for me, and even though my parents gave ye both a tour, I just want to make sure ye don't get lost." Merida claimed.

Hiccup was surprised that Merida wasn't so eager to leave the castle, especially considering that she was all set to do just that without even washing up after breakfast.

"I guess that's a good idea, Merida, since we've only been shown to our room twice so far, the first time with a servant and the second time with you." Hiccup answered.

After hearing that, the princess smiled at Hiccup before she went in front of him and Toothless, then led them through the castle until they finally reached the guest room.

"So, Hiccup, would ye like me to just wait out here until ye're changed, or do ye think that ye'll be able to make yer way out of this castle all by yerself?" Merida asked.

Even though he felt touched that Merida was willing to wait for him and presumably show them outside the castle, Hiccup believed that she's done more than enough.

"I think Toothless and I can figure our way out, Merida, but if we're not outside in about ten minutes or less, than don't hesitate to come in and find us." Hiccup replied.

Merida was a little disappointed to hear the first part of that sentence, but she was happy after hearing the rest, so the redhead decided not to argue with Hiccup about it.

"Okay, Hiccup, but would ye like to have some directions first before I go, because I know I'd probably need them if it was my first time in this castle." Merida offered.

Hiccup realized that since he kept his attention focused mostly on Merida during the walk to his room, he believed that having directions was definitely a very good idea.

"Yes, Merida, I'd really like some directions, but please have them lead us to the stables, since that's where me and Toothless are going to meet you." Hiccup requested.

The dragon rider listened carefully to Merida as she spoke to him, because if he forgot even one part of her directions, then he'd risk getting lost and making Merida wait. Once she was done talking, Hiccup was about to thank Merida for giving him those directions until he suddenly noticed that the princess' face was unusually close to his. It only took Hiccup a bit of time to see the freckles on Merida's cheeks, but he knew that if he mentioned this to her, then her flying lesson would become very awkward.

"Thanks, Merida, and if I happen to forget about your directions, then Toothless can just show me the way out, since he does have a good memory." Hiccup informed.

Merida simply smiled and gave a nod to Hiccup before turning around to make her way through the hallway, and for some reason, Hiccup didn't enter his room yet. Hiccup was actually taking a moment to stare at Merida as she walked away, and Toothless couldn't help but roll his eyes after he'd realized what the boy was doing. The Night Fury decided to wait until after the redhead was out of Hiccup's sight before snorting in his face, and fortunately, this caused Hiccup to come out of his dream-like state.

"Oh, sorry, bud, I was just uhh. . .checking to see that Merida wasn't going to turn around and ask me if I forgot her directions, because I didn't forget." Hiccup claimed.

Instead of rolling his eyes again, Toothless just went behind Hiccup and used his head to nudge the boy closer toward their room's door, since they came here for a reason.

"Don't worry, Toothless, I still remember what I'm supposed to do now." Hiccup said before he opened the door and went inside the room with Toothless following right behind him.

Hiccup waited until Toothless was completely inside the room with him before closing the door shut, and then he wasted no time in finding his flight suit and putting it on. Once he finished doing that, Hiccup suddenly realized that he hasn't told Merida yet about all the features that his flight suit has, and he hasn't told her about Inferno either. He'd make sure to tell Merida everything until after her lesson, because he felt absolutely sure that she wouldn't want to wait any longer in learning how to ride a dragon.

"C'mon, bud, we don't want to keep Merida waiting any longer for us." Hiccup reminded as he and Toothless left the room together before he suddenly stopped to think.

"I remember Merida going that way," Hiccup said as he pointed to the left path in the hallway. "So I'm sure that's where should we go." He added with a confident tone.

After saying that, Hiccup turned and quickly closed the door to their room before heading down that path while he recalled the directions Merida had recently given him.

"Now, I go right," The boy whispered to himself as he kept walking, and Toothless decided not to make a sound, since he didn't want to break his friend's concentration.

Every few minutes, Hiccup would mumble a part of Merida's directions to himself as they walked through hallway upon hallway, but not too fast so that he didn't trip. He made sure to keep his head up so he would always know where he was going and not accidentally bump into Merida's parents, brothers, or even one of the servants. The Viking felt positive that he didn't need to have directions for every single place in the castle, since the only places he'd be going to most often would be his room and the Great Hall.

Hiccup didn't have much interest to see the Queen's tapestry again, even though he thought it looked very nice, and he didn't intend to have any cooking lessons with the servants in the kitchen. He would probably just be a distraction for Merida if he stuck around while she was having a lesson in one of those classrooms, and it still disturbed him a little to see all those stuffed animals in that Trophy Room. Hiccup was fine with having water to drink after each of his meals, so he wasn't going to plan another trip to the cellar, and he believed it was best for him and Toothless to stay away from the garden and pens, since those were both places that the servants usually went to get food.

"I don't believe it." A familiar Scottish voice said, and Hiccup's eyes widened as he saw Merida standing right in front of him. "Ye actually made it out!" She exclaimed.

A smile slowly made its way onto Hiccup's face as he looked around to see that him and Toothless had come outside the castle and were now at the stables with Merida.

"Let's hope that I don't need directions to find my room," Hiccup said before turning to face the redhead. "So, I'm guessing we took less then ten minutes?" He asked.

"Well, I wouldn't know exactly how long, Hiccup, I wasn't really countin', but I do know that ye both didn't take so long to get me worried out here." Merida responded.

Hiccup was glad to hear that, but instead of saying a word, he just smiled before getting onto Toothless' saddle, but waited until the dragon got down for him to do that.

"I know this might be a silly question to ask you, considering I've already asked you the question when we were inside, but are you ready for your lesson?" Hiccup asked.

Merida walked over to where Angus was laying down and she brought one leg on each side of the horse before gently patting Angus to have him stand up on all four legs.

"Hiccup, I was ready ever since ye suggested that I learn how to ride a dragon," Merida replied, before a question came to her mind. "Now what about ye?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm ready." Hiccup answered, and he let Merida lead the way into the forest as him and Toothless followed close behind her and Angus, leaving the castle far behind them.


End file.
